The Marauders: Broomsticks and Fairytales
by RJLupinFan
Summary: When Rose Wilson, a part veela from Australia, starts new at Hogwarts in her fifth year, she wasn't expecting to meet anyone as remarkable and yet confusing as Remus Lupin. Can she and her new best friend, Lily Evans, figure out this mystery? Remus/OC.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

"You're sure you will be alright?" asked a middle aged women, her remarkable face riddled with worry.

"Yes, mum, don't worry about me. I'll be fine… I hope" replied Rose.

"Of course you will, love! The kids are bound to love you, everyone does", her dad exclaimed, giving hera big hug to calm her nerves.

"Thanks dad", she giggled, as she turned to hug her mum. "Really mum, I'll be fine, won't worry. I'll send an owl every day!"

"You better!" She replied, returning her hug with perhaps a little more force than she expected. She must be really worried, thought Rose.

"It's only a new school mum, the best school in the UK, so they say. Hogwarts…".

Rose looked around at the corridor in which she stood. The castle had a strange feel to it. It was magnificent, of course- the Grand Hall had taken Rose's breathe away- but at the same time it had a homey feel about it. Rose was glad for that, since she was new to the school and a fifth year too. As she turned to look at the elaborate mahogany door she was soon expected to enter, she wondered, not for the first time, how the other students would react to her. She had been told that it was very rare for students to be accepted into the school at her age. Students always started at Hogwarts from first year. However the headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, felt her circumstances were special enough to allow her entrance into a later year level.

"Okay, Rosey dear, it is time for your mother and I to leave. We still have to have a short meeting with Professor Dumbledore before leaving," said her father.

With a final hug and some kisses, Rose's parents made their way down the hallway. Rose watched them until they were out of sight. As she turned towards the door of her first class, her hand outstretched as she reached for the handle, she heard a rather stern voice of a woman shout out.

"Potter, Black, for the last time, enough! Has the summer holidays affected your brains? It is only the first day back!"

Rose hesitated for a moment, and though it best that she gave the professor a moment or two to calm down before entering the class, while making a mental note that this seemed like the kind of teacher it was unwise to cross.

A minute later, Rose knocked on the door, her hand shaking. She was worried about what to expect- and rightly so, it was never easy to start off at a new school.

"Enter," came a voice from inside.

Rose opened the door and walked into the classroom. She looked around the room and found a class of eight students gazing at her. Painful aware that all the eyes in the room were focused on her, she timidly turned towards the Professor, who, to her relief, was smiling.

"Good morning, I take it that you are Rose Wilson?" she asked.

"Yes, I am," she replied, "My apologies for being late Professor, my parents and I had a little trouble finding the room after our meeting with Professor Dumbledore".

"That is perfectly fine Ms Wilson, my name is Professor McGonagall, Head of Gryffindor house," She turned to face that rest of the class and announced, "This is Ms Rose Wilson, a new addition to our Gryffindor fifth year class. Her family moved her from Australia just last month, and she will be continuing her education at Hogwarts. I expect that each and every one of you will make her feel most welcome."

Looking around at the students, Rose noticed a handsome student reclining comfortably in his chair, looking perfectly at ease. Much to her embarrassment, he winked at her, and a messy haired boy seated next to him grinned broadly at his friends daring. Rose blushed; his confidence surprised her.

Rose was prettier than the average girl- and so she should be- for she had veela blood flowing in her veins. She was not pure veela ("And a good thing too," she would often say, "I get enough flirting as I am!") however her mother's grandmother had been one. Although it has been diluted out through the generations, there was still enough hint of veela in her that men would, much to her annoyance, often have a second look.

Rose looked away from him, and instead made eye contact with a friendly faced girl with green eyes and red hair. She smiled at her, and Rose smiled back. She felt herself feeling slightly more comfortable.

"Well, Rose, if you would kindly take a seat. There is only one spare, just over there next to Mr Black, if you won't mind"

Rose looked in the direction the Professor had pointed in, and was disappointed to see her referring to the boy who had winked at her. Rose walked over to the seat and slowly sat down, while he turned towards her, and much to her relief, was nice enough to offer his hand. After shaking hands, he said "The name is Black, Sirius Black". Grinning, Rose secretly wondered whether he was a fan of James Bond.

Professor McGonagall had resumed the class, and Sirius turned to face her. Rose was too nervous to focus and instead found herself examining her fellow students. The class, she knew, was made up of only the Gryffindor students.

She glanced at the boy sitting next to Sirius. He had black hair and dark brown eyes. He wore a very confident expression, though perhaps not as confident as the one that seemed to be a permanent feature of Sirius's face. Looking at his book, Rose saw that his name was James Potter. Rose remembered that it had been at him and Sirius that Professor McGonagall had yelled at when she was still outside. Smiling to herself, Rose predicted that the two must have been the class trouble makers. "They certainly looked the part," she thought. As Rose watched him, she noticed that he had a habit of running his fingers through his hair (As if it wasn't already messy enough, thought Rose) and looking over at the girl with green eyes and red hair, who seemed to be oblivious to James' attempts to catch her eye. She was busy listening to Professor McGonagall explain the upcoming OWL exams with rapt attention. In fact, Rose noticed, most of the class seemed to be wearing worried expressions at what Professor McGonagall was explaining, and as Rose decided it was probably best for her to listen as well, she found her nerves leaving her, thinking that she was in for an interesting year.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Finally, after an hour and half of transfiguration, the class came to an end. Before Rose even had time to put her books away, Sirius had turned towards her and asked, in a voice loud enough to catch the attention of most of the class, "So, Rose, what brings you to Hogwarts? We've never had new students above first year before! You must be something special," he added with a wink.

Aware that most of the class was waiting for her answer, Rose replied, "My family moved here from Australia because my dad found work here. Obviously, I had to go to school, and Hogwarts was more or less the only option."

"So did you attend a Wizardry school back in Australia?" James asked, joining the conversation. Before Rose could answer, someone cut in and said,

"There are no Wizard school there, James."

It was the girl with green eyes. While James looked at her, taken-back, perhaps amazed that she had just addressed him, she walked up to Rose.

"Hi Rose, I'm Lily Evans. It is nice to meet you"

"Thanks, it's good to meet you too," Rose replied.

"And this is Nicole, that's Amy, and finally we have Tanya," said Lily.

Rose exchanged greetings with the girls, and they returned them.

"_Well_," cut in Sirius, obviously trying to draw attention back to himself, "These three charming young men here are James Potter, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew."

Suppressing a grin, Rose greeted the three boys, while James grinned back at her, Lupin nodded with a warm smile, and Peter, for some reason, avoided looking at her and fiddled with his bag instead. Sirius noticed this and grabbed him by the arm, pulled him forward and said,

"Greet the girl, Peter! Where are your manners?" Sirius turned to me and said, with a hint of laughter in his voice, "Peter is just pretending to be shy."

As everyone laughed, Rose said "Don't worry Peter, I don't bite!"

Peter stepped forward, mumbled a "hi", and stepped back into the shadows.

"Come on, Peter, and all this time we thought you were a ladies man!" remarked James.

"Oh, leave him alone Potter!" said Lily, "Not every one is as confident as you and Sirius."

"Oh, so you think I'm confident, do you? Then why don't you go with me?" Replied James, with a hint of hope in his eyes. The reply he received, however, was nothing more than Lily rolling her eyes.

Rose was surprised that this question was asked so casually, and the confusion must have shown on her face, because Nicole, laughing, said:

"You will get used to it Rose, James is crazy about Lily, he asks her out every other minute! You would think he would have become tired of hearing the word 'no!' by now!"

Sirius smirked, while James let out a gasp-

"I do not, Miss I-make-it-so-obvious-that-I-have-a-crush-on-Sirius!"

A blush was creeping across Nicole's face at that statement, but, thinking that this conversation was getting out of hand, Rose cut in-

"Umm, don't you think we should be heading off to the next class?"

"Yeh, Rose is right," said Sirius, "looks like we have ourselves a peace keeper, watch out Remus, you might be out of a job."

Laughing, Remus punched him playfully, saying, "With all the trouble you and James get up to, I think I could use a helping hand! What do you say, Rose, up for the challenge?"

"Sure!" Rose replied, laughing, as she followed the others to the next class. She couldn't help but notice that Remus had a very nice laugh, and though he was not as handsome as Sirius, he had a special charm of his own.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

By lunch time the following day, Rose was feeling right at home. The guys were a constant laugh, and Lily was especially nice. Her worries about being left out aside, she turned her attention to getting to know her new friends.

Rose was sitting with Lily for lunch, while Sirius, James and Remus sat across them. Lily was asking Rose about her life back in Australia.

"Well," she said, lowering her fork back to her plate, "like you said, there aren't any Wizard schools in Australia. There aren't even many wizards and witches at all, to be honest! My family was the only magical family in town. One of the reasons I was so excited about coming to Britain was the large magical community."

"But then how did you become so good at magic, you're in fifth year!" exclaimed Remus.

"I was home schooled. My parents started teaching me magic when I as 7, based on the Hogwarts syllabus."

"What!" cried Remus. James and Sirius both seemed to have chocked on their soup. Laughing, Remus slapped them both across the back.

"What?" Rose asked, confused.

"Isn't it illegal?" asked Lily. "In Britain we can't use a wand outside of Hogwarts until we are 17!"

"Oh, yeh. That is so annoying! Back home we don't have a ministry for magic, so no one can really stop us from using magic at any age we want."

"But that's awesome!" said James, his eyes glistering with the look of a person contemplating making trouble. "Imagine the trouble we could have caused Sirius!"

"Yeh, it's shame isn't it," said Sirius, "Tell you what, when I become Minister of Magic, I'll change the rules so that you kiddos can have some fun."

"Yeh, and Peter will become the next Headmaster," retorted James as Peter, who had just joined them for lunch, hit him across the head with his spoon.

Lily turned back towards me and asked,

"So, your parents are both magical, aren't they Rose?"

"Yep, are yours?"

"No, I'm Muggle born actually. The boys are all full blood too."

"Oh, I'm not actually full blood though," said Rose. The words left her lips before she even realize what she had said.

"Huh? How so? You're parents are both magical," asked James.

Rose felt a blush creeping up her neck- she hadn't intended to mention that she was part veela. Her mother had told her that people tend to see being part veela as something special, but Rose didn't feel like being seen as different, especially not on her second day of school!

"Isn't it obvious, Potter?" said Sirius, ruffling James' hair, "she's part veela!"

"What?" Rose cried, "How did you know that?"

"What, you are? I was only joking!"

"Oh." Rose was hoping her blush wasn't obvious. She was painfully aware that all four pairs of very surprised eyes were on her. Finally, after a moments silence that seemed to last forever, Sirius left out a low whistle.

"Well, no wonder! That sure explains a lot."

Rose laughed, glad he broke the silence and amazed at how natural Sirius made flirting seem. James laughed also, but Remus was still looking at her in amazement. Rose gave him an awkward smile; he smiled back and looked away.

"You know," said James, "I always wondered whether Lily was part veela too. She certainly looks the part. What do you think Lily?" he added, giving her a wink.

"Zip it Potter, you know I'm no more veela than you are charming."

Sirius let out a bark of laughter, patting a disappointed James on the back, saying "Better luck next time, huh James. We can't all be as natural as I am." With that, he winked at Rose.

Rose giggled and rolled her eyes. "This guy is going to be trouble" she thought to herself, amused.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"Remus, wait!" called out Rose, as she ran to catch up with Remus, who had just left the common room to make his way to the potions dungeons.

"Sorry, this is my first potions class, I don't know the way there yet, can I tag along?"

"Sure," said Remus, smiling reassured at Rose.

"Thanks."

"It must be hard, starting at a new school," he said, "If you ever need any help with anything, just let me know."

Rose smiled; glad to have made such a nice friend.

"Thank you so much, that is really nice of you!"

"I'm a prefect," he added, pointed at this badge, "That is what I do, help out, you know. Stuff like that."

"But I'm sure you would have helped out anyway, you seem like that kind of guy."

At this Remus blushed- it was just a tinge of pink, but Rose still managed to see it. He had been blushing a lot; Rose wondered if he was always like that.

"Yeh… I guess I am," he said, grinning sheepishly.

"Cute," Rose thought.

"So tell me about potions, is it an interesting class? How is the Professor?"

"Oh, hmm," Remus paused for a moment, looking thoughtful. "It is interesting I suppose. But watch out for Professor Slughorn, he tends to favour the more talented students and ignores the rest. Not that he isn't a nice guy, but yeh. Unless you are a Lily Evans at potions, you'll be having trouble getting him to notice your hard work."

"Wow," said Rose, feeling a little apprehensive about the class. Having been home schooled her whole life, she never developed the skills needed to impress her teachers, nor had she ever thought she would need to.

"But, hey no pressure!" said Remus, noticing her worried expression.

Rose giggled, and as she did, noticed Remus blushing again.

When they reached the potions dungeons, Rose thanked Remus for assisting her, and went to join Lily and the other girls while he joined James and Sirius. As she walked through the students towards Lily, she became uncomfortably aware that many students were staring at her. She assumed they were the Slytherins, who they shared their potions class with. One dark haired girl in particular was looking at her with an expression of utmost dislike. She whispered something to her friends, and they all started laughing while chancing obvious glances at Rose.

Rose was shocked; she didn't even know the girls and was at a loss as to why they would be treating her so cruelly.

When she joined Lily and Nicole, her confusion must have been showing on her face, because they both stopped talking and asked her what was wrong.

Rose looked over her shoulders at the group of girls, who were still laughing at her. Lily followed her gaze and her expression immediately changed from worry to anger.

"Why are they laughing at you?"

"I don't know!" said Rose, her voice shaking ever so slightly, "I don't even know who they are!"

"Don't worry Rose," said Nicole reassuringly. "_That_" she said, pointed her head towards the girl who had started the laughter, "is none other than the notorious Jessica Jones. She thinks she's everything, just because her parents are rich, and because lot's of boys like her. Oh, and because she is pure blood. But the rest of us know she is nothing but an arrogant jerk. You should see the way she treats Lily!"

"Yeh, she isn't worth two seconds of your time Rose. Just ignore her, she only wants attention," added Lily.

"But I still don't understand why she would dislike me, we haven't even met?" exclaimed Rose. She didn't like the idea of having an enemy.

"It is probably because of something stupid, like your hair is too straight for her liking or something," said Lily, giggling.

Grinning, Nicole added, "Nah, I think I know what it is. She is jealous! Rose is gorgeous, look, even the Slytherin boys can't seem to keep their eyes off her!"

Rose looked around and sure enough, she had caught the attention of a number of boys. Blushing, she turned away, but not before she noticed that Remus seemed to be eying her too… She made eye contact with him, and he hastily looked away, blushing. Rose continued to look at him, wondering what had just happened.

"Hey, look at Snape! Even he keeps looking at you Rose!" laughed Nicole, her eyes twinkly.

"Which one is he?" asked Rose, finally turning away from Remus.

"That one there, the git with the greasy black hair"

"Oh, Nicole don't! He isn't that bad you know, once you get to know him," said Lily defensively.

Before Nicole could reply, Professor Slughorn opened the door to the classroom. They enter silently, Nicole still giggling at the thought of Snape fancying Rose.

The afternoon's class was interesting enough. Slughorn seemed excited to see what Rose had to offer, so, determined to make a good impression, Rose worked very hard on the days task.

"Mmm," said Slughorn loudly, as he looked in to her cauldron. "Perhaps a smidgen thinner than I was expecting, but very, very good none the less! The perfect shade of teal. Well done Miss Wilson, take ten points for Gryffindor!"

Rose beamed, she was delighted that Slughorn had been pleased with her work. The only person who received a warmer reception than her was Lily, who Slughorn obviously was very fond of.

As Rose walked to the front of the classroom to place her sample on the rack, she noticed Jessica rolling her eyes at her and laughing about something ("Probably me" thought Rose, sadly) with her friends. Rose frowned; amazed that anyone could be so cruel for no reason at all. "I wonder if she really is just jealous?" she thought.

Her answer came minutes later at the end of the lesson. As everyone started packing up, Jessica, along with a friend of hers approached Rose, and asked, with unmistakable contempt in her voice,

"So, is it true?"

"Is what true?" asked Rose.

"Oh, please," retorted Jessica, rolling her eyes again, as though she thought Rose was being dumb on purpose. "As if you don't know."

"Either tell us what you are talking about, Jessica, or go away." glared Lily.

"Yeh," added Nicole. "We have places to be, if you don't mind."

Jessica put her hands on her hips, narrowed her eyes at Rose, and asked,

"Is it true you are part veela?"

Before Rose could reply, Sirius cut in,

"Yeh, she is, Jess. Problem?"

"Or are you just jealous?" added James, eying her suspiciously.

"Me? _Me_? Jealous of her! Ha! Part veela- I thought it was just a stupid rumour. She isn't even good looking! Her father must have been hideous- probably a mudblood."

Jessica's friend roared with laughter; however the Gryffindor who were listening where outraged.

"How dare you!" cried Nicole.

"Take that back!" exclaimed James.

Sirius had even reached for his wand, but none reacted faster than Remus. Stepping forward, he said, in a calm though menacing voice:

"You're just jealous that she is more beautiful than you."

Rose beamed, delighted at the defense of her friends, especially that of Remus. Seeing she was over powered, Jessica sneered, signaled to her friend and strutted out of the classroom.

"Thanks, everyone," said Rose softly. "Really, it means a lot to me."

Her friends patted her on the back, assuring her that they would not allow anyone to walk over her like that, all except Remus, who, with a hint of red on his cheeks, made his way out of the classroom.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

By the end of the week, Rose had struck a strong friendship with Lily. Fast as it seemed, living together, and even sharing a bedroom meant that they become had accustomed to one another very quickly.

Saturday morning, rather than busy themselves with the heap of homework awaiting them in the common room, they went down to the grounds for a walk besides the lake. Lily had wanted to give Rose a proper tour of the school grounds.

"So, Lily, I hope you don't mind me asking, but I was just really curious, what's up with you and James?"

"Oh, that", said Lily darkly. "Well, James just can't seem to leave me alone! It isn't anything new; he has been that way since third year."

"And you don't have any interest in him at all?" Rose dared to ask.

"Nope, no way," she replied with a grimace, "He is too arrogant for my liking. You probably won't have noticed it much yet, though, it's only been what, five days?"

"Oh, really? I thought he seemed nice enough."

"Oh, he is nice, of course, but he just thinks a little too much of himself. Have you noticed how he always runs his hand through his hair, to make it messier?" she added, grimacing.

"Yeh, I did actually," laughed Rose. "Why does he do that?"

"He plays chaser for the Gryffindor team- he loves to look like he has just come off his broomstick" Lily laughed, rolling her eyes.

"What! I didn't know he played chaser!" cried Rose.

"What?" said a surprised Lily. "You're not a quidditch fan, are you?"

"Yeh! I love the sport. There is a house team isn't there? Can anyone try-out?"

"Yeh, try outs are next week I think. Who would have thought! Miss-veela, a quidditch fan!"

"Lily! Don't call me that," cried Rose, playfully punch Lily. "I get enough trouble from Jessica as it is."

Rose stopped walking, and sat down next to a particularly nice part of the lake. After last week's potions class, Jessica seemed determined to bully Rose. She and her friends would break out in giggling fits whenever they saw her, hexing her at any chance they had.

And to make matters worse- Rose had only become more popular as the week passed. The news of her having veela blood spread around the school at lighting fast speed, and by Thursday afternoon Rose had already found herself turning down boys who just couldn't take their eyes of her. This only seemed to frustrate Jessica more, especially when her ex-boyfriend had shown interest in Rose.

"I wish I never said anything about it! I hate all the attention I get. I mean, I hardly have any veela in me, it has been diluted out so much. There are many other girls prettier than me." Rose complained.

"Don't stress about it Rose," said Lily. "I'm sure most people will forget about it soon enough." She patted Rose on the back. "And as for Jessica, well she was always going to make your life a hell, veela or not, she is jealous of your naturally sleek golden-brown hair, perfect green-brown eyes and amazing figure," added Lily, grinning.

Surprised, Rose asked, "But how do you know that?"

"I heard her complaining about in the bathroom, she thought she was alone, she didn't notice me come in." said Lily, grinning mischievously.

Rose grinned too, Jessica would have been horrified if she knew Lily had over heard her.

"So, anyway," said Lily, in a would-be casual voice. "What is going on with you and Remus?"

"What about us?" said Rose, hoping she sounded innocent, but her body seemed to have betrayed her- she felt a blush creeping across her face.

"Don't pretend you don't know! We've all seen the way he looks at you! In fact, I don't think he can take his eyes of you at all. I've never seen him like this before," said Lily.

"So, he isn't just the type who blushes a lot?" asked Rose, desperate for an answer.

"Remus? No, no way! He isn't that kind at all! True, he is tamer than Potter and Sirius, but he is still pretty out-going. But not when you are around, I've noticed."

Rose thought about this. She had suspected, and rather hoped, that Remus might be interested in her.

"So, do you think he likes me?" she whispered.

"I think it is too early to tell. It has only been a week since you've met. Give it some time to see what happens. He might just not be used to being in the company of someone as pretty as yourself."

"Oh, come on Lily!" exclaimed Rose. "I'm not _that_ pretty!"

Lily giggled, "Sure, sure whatever you say. Come on, we should head back inside, we have so much homework to do!"

Rose stood up and followed Lily back towards the castle, her head still trying to digest Lily's thoughts.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Meanwhile, back in Gryffindor tower, the four boys – James, Remus, Sirius and Peter- were still in bed, but all awake.

"Oi, Moony!" called James, addressing Remus.

"Mmm?" replied Remus, still rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"So, tell us, when are you planning to ask out Rose?"

"What?" asked Remus, now wide awake from shock, "Ask her out? Why would I do that?"

Sirius, his attention caught, laughed, and said: "Because you like her! Duh!"

"No I don't!"

James sat up in his and looked Remus straight in the face, grinned, and said, "Then are you blushing??"

"Argh, I am not blushing!" said Remus defensively, and pulled his bed sheets over his face.

His three friends let out a howl of laughter and Sirius cried, "Accio _bedsheets_", forcing Remus to show his face.

"Okay, okay. So I think I might like her a bit," muttered Remus, "What gave it away?"

"Yeh, how did you guess?" said Peter, looking around at the others, "I didn't notice anything."

"You don't notice anything much, do you Peter?" chuckled Sirius.

"It was just so obvious," grinned James. "I've never seen little Remmy here blush so much, ever!"

"And he can't keep his eyes of her either," added Sirius.

"That, and he kept muttering her name in his sleep last –" started James.

"What?!" cried Remus, sitting upright in bed. "Potter, you're making that up!"

Laughing, James replied, "Yeh, okay, so that was a joke. But it was still obvious."

"The last thing I need is for people to think I mutter about her in my sleep!" thought Remus. Just the thought of Rose finding out – even though it didn't happen- was enough to send shivers down his spine. The truth was though – he had been dreaming of her. Though he didn't remember the details, he did remember that she looked as beautiful as ever. Relieved that he had been spared of any major embarrassment, Remus shot a hex at James, causing his hair to turn orange.

"Nice look, James," said Sirius as Peter rolled off his bed from laughter.

With a flick of his wand, James changed it back to its usual jet black, and added to Remus, "I'm only letting you get away with that one because you're in love, werewolf. Don't want to upset the lady, see."

"I'm not in love," sighed Remus, "I mean, I think I like her, but it is too early to tell isn't it? It have only known her for a week –"

"And you're already head over heels" commented Sirius.

Ignoring the interruption, Remus added, " – and it isn't like she knows anyway, or that feels the same way. You guys better keep your mouths shut!"

"Or else what?" asked Peter.

"Yeh, Remus John Lupin, what are you going to do with us if we accidently – on – purpose say something?" challenged James, hands on hips in a pretend – serious voice, though there was a gleam of mischief in his eyes.

"Well, Mr James Potter, if he isn't careful, a certain black – haired someone who happens to play chaser might have to watch his step around a certain red haired someone who he just can't get over."

"You wouldn't!" said James, horrified.

"And neither will you?" said Remus.

"Okay, okay fine," sighed James, recognizing defeat. "Deal. My lips are sealed."

Remus looked around at the other two.

Peter nodded, indicating that the secret was safe with him also, and Sirius said, "You know I won't do anything too out there, mate." And with that, he started making pretend kissing faces at Remus.

Peter, who had only just gotten back into his bed, fell off yet again from laughter, this times James joined him. Remus, grinning at his friend's foolishness, threw his pillow at Sirius.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

"Lily, guess what!" cried Rose, besides herself with excitement.

"What?" replied Lily. She had been sitting alone in the half-empty common room, working on her transfiguration assignment.

"My dad just sent me my racing broom, try-outs are this afternoon, I'm going to try for seeker!"

"Wow, really?" said Lily. "Do you play seeker well?"

"I think so. I've only ever played with my dad, back in Australia. I've never played a real match but I've practiced catching our snitch heaps of times. I'm pretty good at it."

"Are you nervous? Do you know who else is trying for seeker?" asked Lily.

"A little nervous, and, no, I don't know. But I do know last year's seeker was a seventh year, so the position is wide open. But Lily, don't tell anyone okay?"

"Why not, they are going to find out anyway."

"I know, I just don't want people talking to me about it before tryouts and making me nervous. They can find out when we get there."

"Alright, well, good luck Rose! I really hope you do well, I can really see you as a seeker!" said Lily.

"Thanks Lily, now I think I should do some study before tryouts, there's three hours left… let's see if I can make a dent in McGonagall's killer of an assignment."

Rose arrived with Lily at the Quidditch pitch that afternoon. She was starting to feel nervous- she had never been to a try-out session before and didn't know what to expect. She have never flown in front of anyone other than her parent's either, and was worried that she would be too nervous to fly well in front of the 50 or so Griffindors in the stadium.

"Lily!" cried Rose. "I'm so nervous!"

Alarmed, Lily gave Rose a reassuring hug. "Don't worry!" she said, "You will be fine!"

"No, I won't! Lily, let's go back, I don't know what I was thinking. Let's just go, no one has seen me yet."

Before Lily could reply, Rose gasped and pointed, "Look, Remus is here! What if I embarrass myself, in front of him? What if I fall off my broom? _Lily_!!"

Rose looked absolutely besides herself. Lily had never seen her so nervous.

"Okay, look, how about we disguise you?" suggested Lily.

"Disguise?"

"That way no one will know it is you, and you can still try out. If you lose, no one will know, and if you make it in to the team, then you can reveal yourself!"

"Lily, you're a genius!" said Rose, clearly relieved. "But how?"

"Leave it to me".

And Lily took out her wand and started to change Rose's appearance. By the end of it, Rose was unrecognizable. Her golden-brown hair was shortened ("Don't worry, the charm is reversible!"), made very curly and changed to black. Her skin looked like had been tanned, her lips were larger and wider, her nose smaller. Lily was too scared to do anything to her eyes, in case something went wrong, so she conjured a pair of sunglasses for Rose to wear.

"They will help disguise you better anyway, since they cover most of your face," she had said.

"What about my voice?' asked Rose, "Ahh, that's better," she said, after Lily had flicked her wand.

Lily giggled, "You sound so weird! A bit like my sister Petunia singing in the shower."

Lily pretended to think while Rose started singing and added, "Okay, so maybe you don't sound that bad."

Giggling, the girls made their way into the stadium. Rose realized Remus was here to watch James try out for chaser. He was already on the team, but the captain wanted everyone to have a chance to try out, so that meant people already on the team had to try out too.

Rose made her way towards the captain while Lily went to sit in the stands with Remus, Sirius and Peter. As soon as she reached the small crowd of people surrounding the captain, she noticed James staring at her, and he asked, "Who are you?"

Rose didn't reply, but whispered to the captain, who looked equally surprised to see this completely unfamiliar person trying out for his team – "I'm in Gryffindor, don't worry. I changed my appearance so I could try out without anyone knowing it is me. I'll show you my real face if I make the team."

The captain nodded, though his facial expression suggested that he found the situation rather bizarre. He cleared his throat and started yelling out instructions to all the students ready to try out. "Right, everyone split up! Chasers to the left, beater next to them, seekers here. No keeper try-outs. That is my position."

The try-outs seemed to go on for hours. The captain (who, as Rose just discovered, was called Andrew Carter) tested out the chasers first. No new additions were made to the team, it was still James, a third year girl called Lesley, and a seventh year, known as Ben. James, Rose noted, flew superbly. The beaters were next, one new beater made the team, a fourth year called Kevin, and he was joined by last years beater, John, also in fourth year.

Finally, it was time for the seekers. Carter made them all (there was four of them) fly a few laps around the stadium, just so see how well they could fly. As Rose mounted her broom, she felt a little nervous, but knew that it was nothing compared to how she would feel if everyone knew her real identify. On Carters signal, she kicked off from the ground, and as she did, she felt her worries part with her. She was flying now, her confidence regained. She could fly well and she knew it. She looked around at the others, and noticed that one of the second years had already fallen off his broom. He didn't seem too injured, and was being taken up to the hospital wing by a friend. She looked at the other two. One of them, a broad-shouldered sixth year flew well, but she knew he was not the build for a seeker, who tended to be more light weight. The other, a third year, also flew well, and Rose thought that he would definitely be strong competition.

Carter called them back down. Now, they were to compete against each other to catch the golden snitch. There would be 5 rounds, who ever won the most times would make the team. To add further distractions, the beaters would be aiming at them and at the chasers, who will be zooming in between them, throwing the quaffle.

Rose mounted her broom and kicked off, as Carter released the snitch. It disappeared in an instant, so she gained some height and started to look for it. She noticed, also, that Remus was still watching. Shaking her head, as if to remove out the image of his face, she focused her attention back to finding the snitch. They flew for five minutes, weaving between the chasers and dodging beaters, before Rose spotted the snitch stationary near the southern goal post. She dived, excitement rushing through her body as the wind rushed through her hair. She had eyes only for the snitch, however, and did not realize that the third year was right at her tail. However, Rose got there first; she grasped the snitch tight in her hand, just in time to pull out of the dive.

She punched the air in triumph; she could hear cheering from the stands, but suddenly it stopped, and was replaced by a collective gasp. Rose heard a crash from behind her, and turned to see that the third year had not pulled out of the dive in time and had crashed in to the goal post. Rose flew towards him and jump of her broom. She was relieved to see that he was okay, but fazed. His friend took him up to the hospital wing, just in case.

Once everyone had settled down, they resumed the try-outs. Rose, her confidence soaring after winning the first round, made two more wins straight, and the remaining rounds were called off since she could no longer lose. She was elated, amazed to have made it on to the team. She turned to see Lily running towards her, and clasp her in a massive hug.

"You made it, you made it! I knew you would, Rose!" cried Lily.

"Rose?" said James, "_Rose_?" James started in disbelief.

Remus, Sirius and Peter had made it to the field now too, and were looking at Rose, almost as stunned as James was.

"Yes, Rose, Potter, look" said Lily, and she waved her wand and instantly, Rose returned to her normal self. She took off her glasses, unable to suppress her grin.

"Wow, why did you disguise yourself?" asked James, apparently still amazed that his new classmate was such an amazing flier.

"Because…" said Rose. "I was nervous."

"But you were great! I'm impressed." added Sirius. He nudged Remus in the ribs. Taking the hint, Remus added- "Yeh Lily, you were amazing. I had no idea you so talented."

Rose smiled at him, "Thanks, Remus". To her relief, Remus didn't blush, but smiled back. Rose felt a tingling in her stomach that had nothing to do with quidditch.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

"I will be setting you an assignment to do during today's session," said Rose's Defense against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Roberts. "The class will be arranged into pairs and we will go down to the library, where you will have one hour to research about a dark creature, which I shortly assign to each pair. You will have to answer 10 questions about your creature and submit it by the end of the class. The pairings and assigned creatures are on the black board." He flicked his wand, and the class was soon pouring through the lists on the board looking for their names.

"Lily," cried a delighted Rose, "I'm with Remus!"

"I'm with James!" moaned Lily. "How could this happen!?"

"Oh come on Lily, I'm sure it won't be that bad."

But before Lily could reply, James had came to her side. "So, looks like destiny has brought us together" he said, winking at Lily.

"For an hour only, Potter. Don't get your hopes high," retorted Lily. "And don't try anything stupid if you want this hour to end happily. Okay?"

"Stupid? Me?" said James, with an expression of mock innocence. "Of course not! Now, come on, we need to get down to the library."

He and Lily the room, James with a spring in his step. Rose looked around for Remus and found him talking to the professor. She approached them, just in time to hear the professor saying, "No, I'm sorry Remus, I'm afraid the pairings and creature assignments are final."

Rose froze. 'Was Remus trying to swap partners?' she thought. She bit her lip, worried.

Remus turned away looking slightly disappointed, by smiled slightly when he saw Rose. "Hey, partner."

"Hey," replied Rose, smiling back. "Is everything okay?"

"Oh, yeh it's fine. Come on; let's get to the library before all the good books are taken," he said.

She followed him out of the classroom, thinking she should just forget what she had overheard.

"Oh, wait, Remus," she said, stopping mid-step and grabbing his arm. "Which creature are we researching? I forgot to check."

"Werewolf," he said, simply, his face expressionless.

"Oh okay. That should be interesting," said Rose. "I'm glad he isn't making this homework, I have quidditch practice tonight. The last thing I need is extra work!"

"I was watching at the try-outs," mentioned Remus, "You fly very well, I was impressed."

"Thanks," said Rose, delighted to have received a compliment from Remus. "Are you much of a flyer?"

"Me?" he said, "Well, actually, once, when I was a kid, I fell of the broom and hurt myself pretty bad. Broke my arm and sprained my ankle. My parents didn't know I was out flying, so I literally had to crawl all the way home. It took about fifteen minutes. Fifteen minutes of sheer pain." He added, grimacing.

"Ouch, that must have been horrible!" said Rose.

"Yeh, it was. My parents put it right in an instant though- but ever since then I lost most interest in flying."

"Why didn't your parents know you were flying?"

"Ah, well," said Remus, grinning sheepishly. "I was only 7 and my parents never let me try anything to exciting on a broomstick. So, I, uh, borrowed my dad's broom and went flying by myself."

"Oh, how naughty!" giggled Rose. She also couldn't help but notice how handsome Remus looked when he grinned. "Well, I see you haven't changed much since you were a kid. What is this I hear about you and Sirius sneaking dungbombs into the Slytherin common room?"

Remus looked shocked, but amused. "How did you know about that?" he asked, eyesbrows raised.

"News gets around," said Rose cooly, her eyes twinkling. "You're just lucky McGonagall hasn't heard about it yet."

"True," he said, "I don't much fancy spending any more nights in detention."

"What do you mean, any _more_?" asked Rose, raising an eyebrow. "It is only the fourth week of semester!"

"Hey, don't look at me like that!" said Remus, laughing. "One of them was for getting caught out of our dorm after hours, another was for hexing a seventh year Slytherin –"

"Why did you hex him?" asked Rose, thinking she already knew the answer.

"Umm… because he was just there? He has always been a jerk. It was James idea really. He hates us even more than we hate him."

Rose laughed as they entered the library, "Cheeky, cheeky. Come on, we need to get started on some research. Do you know much about werewolves?"

Remus hesitated, "Hmm, yeh a fair bit I guess."

"Good," said Rose, oblivious to Remus's discomfort, "because I personally don't know much more than people transforming on a full moon. Why don't you grab us a table while I get some books?"

Rose made her way through the shelves to the dark creature section. She found Lily there, flicking through a book. Her expression was one of exasperation, even though James was no where to be seen.

"How are things going with Potter?" asked Rose.

"Not great. He has already tried putting his arms around my shoulders," she said, sounding annoyed.

"And what did you do?" asked Rose, grinning.

"Hexed him, of course." said Lily, finally showing a hint of a smile on her face. "He's still trying to fix his arm. So how about you and Remus?" she added, truly grinning now.

"Good, so far. He is so cute, Lily! I think I'm falling for him." said Rose. "I hope I don't stuff up! I want to really make a good impression, this is the first time I've really had the chance to spend time with him. Any tips?"

"Just be yourself, you're a great natural."

"Okay, shall try," giggled Rose. She found two books with lengthy chapters on werewolves and went back to meet Remus, who was looking at the list of question they had to answer.

"Where did you get the list from?" asked Rose as she sat down besides him.

"The professor just gave them out. They don't look too bad."

Rose looked over them quickly and said, "Yeh, they look okay. Well, let's get started I guess. We only have 50 minutes left to get through this."

"Okay. The first question is: 'The true werewolf differs in appearance from a normal wolf in many ways. List five features that allow for the differentiation between the two forms.' Well, that is easy," said Remus, looking up from the sheet of paper in front of him. "I don't think we will even need to look that up!"

"Impressive! How do you know so much about werewolves?" asked Rose.

"Just, you know… reading and stuff. And we did a bit about it in third year," mumbled Remus.

"Okay, why don't you write down the answer for that one then while I look up the answer for the second question? Unless you know that too?" teased Rose.

"Nah, go for it," chuckled Remus, "I'm not a walking encyclopedia you know."

Rose watched as Remus wrote down his answer. She couldn't help but notice, yet again, how handsome he looked. As he leaned forward, his light-brown fringe swept across his forehead, nicely framing his long face. It wasn't too long, but it definitely wasn't round either. A bit of a rectangular oval thought Rose. His bright brown eyes focused on the paper in front of him, but his eyelashes pointed upwards-they had a strong curl. It might be seen by some as a feminine feature, but strangely, on him it only seemed to enhance his masculinity. Rose frowned when she realized that Remus had a slight shadow under his eyes. She had not paid much attention to that earlier, but she realized now that it made him look slightly tired.

Unexpectedly, Remus looked up, he smiled and asked, "I thought you were meant to be looking up something about why bitten victims become werewolves?"

Shocked and embarrassed at having been caught in the middle of her examination of his lovely face, Rose smiled and replied, "Yes, I was just about to start on that actually," while hoping that the heat she felt in her face had not translated itself into a blush. She flicked through the closest book she saw in front on her, wondering whether the affection she had felt in her heart had shown on her face, and whether Remus was now smiling at his answer sheet because he remembered something amusing about werewolves, or because he understood- and was pleased with- the real reason it had taken Rose a while to start reading up on werewolves.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Rose sat alone in the Gryffindor common room that evening, trying to get some homework done, but allowing her thoughts to wonder to her hour spent alone with Remus the previous day, when her thoughts were distracted by a hand that waved in front of her face.

"Hellooooo, earth to Rose," said an amused Lily.

"Oh, hi, Lily," replied Rose, looking up from her textbook, "Sorry, I was just –"

"Day-dreaming?" suggested Lily, "Yeh, I could tell."

Rose laughed, seeing no point in denying it. "Where have you been anyway?"

"I was studying in the library with Snape."

"Snape?" said Rose, confused, "_Snape_, that greased haired Slytherin guy?"

"Yep."

"Did I miss something? Since when were you friends with _him_?"

"Why are you so surprised?" asked Lily, raising an eyebrow, "I've known him from before I even came to Hogwarts. He was the person who told me I was a witch."

"You never mentioned that! How come I never realized you were friends? I've never seen you talking to him before."

"Yeh," said Lily hesitantly, "that would be because we, ah, kinda had a fight during the summer holidays. We only made up at the start of this week."

"Oh, yeh that would explain a lot," said Rose, "But still, I never really got the impression that he was particularly, umm you know, friendly? And he hangs out with those creepy guys…"

"No, he is nice, really!" insisted Lily defensively. "I know what you mean about his friends though. They are creeps. I'm always asking him how he can befriend them."

Rose argued with herself for a moment, wondering whether she should point out she didn't know how Lily could be friends with Snape, when he was clearly as cold as the people he calls friends. She decided she shouldn't press the issue, not so soon after finding out about their friendship.

The following morning, Rose and Lily made their way down to breakfast together, talking excitedly.

"My first Hogsmeade trip!" exclaimed Rose, "I can't wait!"

"Oh, I remember my first Hogsmeade trip," said Lily reminiscently, "Back in third year. It was the most amazing experience."

"Lily – I was thinking of asking Remus to go with me," confessed Rose hesitantly.

"What!?" said Lily, snapping out of her little trip to the past, "You mean, on a date?"

"Yeh… What do you think?" asked Rose, biting her lip. "Do you think he will be interested?"

"Interested? Of course!" exclaimed Lily, besides herself with excitement, "He likes you, I'm sure he does. You have a great personality and being part veela doesn't hurt either."

"But what if he says no?" asked Rose, her worry evident, as they entered the great hall.

"Don't worry, he won't. No way. I've known Remus for five years, and I've never seen him this way with a girl before."

They sat down at the Griffindor table for breakfast, and stopped their conversation only because they were shortly joined by Nicole, Sirius and Peter. James and Remus joined shortly after.

"Morning, all," said James happily, "Anyone notice the posters in the common room? Hogsmeade next weekend!"

"Excellent," said Sirius, "We need to stock up on supplies from Zonkos."

"Don't forget Honeydukes," added Nicole, "Yumm…"

"So, anyway, Lily," said James, while running his fingers though his hair, creating that windswept look typical of someone who had just dismounted a broom stick. Rose thought she knew what was coming- she had long learned to associate that act with James making a fool of him self by trying to get Lily to go out with him, "Do you want to go to Hogsmeade? Just you and me?"

Sure enough, James had delivered. Rose wondered what tongue-in-cheek comment Lily was going to come up with this time.

"Sure," she said, simply, shrugging.

Rose chocked on her cereal, Nicole had to hit her back a few times. Sirius, actually spilled his glass of milk and both Remus and Peter had their spoons held half way up to their mouths, which were hanging wide open. Rose fleetingly thought of how cute this made Remus him look.

"You will?" asked James, his expression one of pure shock. Clearly, he too had not been expecting this response.

"Umm…" said Lily awkwardly, "No, not really… I was joking actually."

James' face fell. He looked like a five year old who had just been told that Santa Claus was not real. Sirius laughed, patting him on the back, saying, "Looks like we aren't the only jokers on the table after all," Remus and Peter looked relieved, not so much because that James had been rejected, but because Lily hadn't lost her sanity.

Rose and Nicole had both broken out into a giggling fit. Rose felt sorry for James- for a few seconds the cause that he had been struggling for over many years had almost a reality, but she still couldn't help but see the funny side of what had just happened.

"Sorry, James," said Lily. She seemed to be feeling guilty at the disappointment she had caused him, "I didn't mean to get your hopes high. It was only meant to be a joke…"

James, his arrogance getting the better of him, quickly changed his expression from devastation to indifference, and ran his fingers through his hair again,"Whatever, Evans. There's always next Hogsmeade trip."

Lily rolled her eyes, and continued with her breakfast. The rest of their breakfast passed rather uneventfully, until they were paid a rather unexpected visit from Jessica Jones, joined by some of her tag along friends, and to Rose's surprise, Severus Snape.

Snape approached Lily, and, ignoring everyone else, leaned down next to her and whispered something in her ear. Lily frowned slightly, but nodded. Snape stood up again and Lily smiled at him and said, "Okay, not a problem." Snape stepped back a little, oblivious to the curious looks he was receiving from the others, and the angry look he was getting from James.

Rose, however, looked over at Jessica, and asked, with as much fake politeness as she could muster, "Can we help you?"

"Yes, actually," said Jessica, with a sickly smile spreading across her lips.

Rose raised an eyebrow, though it was Lily who spoke next. "What do you want?" She didn't bother pretending to be polite (it was only yesterday that Jessica had yet again called her a mudblood.)

"Well," said Jessica slowly, slipping her hands into her robe's pocket, "Severus just taught us a spell, and we thought were might just try it out."

Before anyone had the time to react, Jessica pulled out her wand, pointed it straight at Rose and, in full view of all the students and teachers in the great hall, cried, "_Levicorpus_!"

Rose instantly felt herself being pulled up out of her chair, by the leg, and flung upside down. She screamed, as her robes fell down around her waist and exposed her legs. Lucky though, she had worn knee length tights that morning because of the cold.

Rose could hear her friends around her cry out in outrage. There were several audible gasps from around the Hall, but these were soon drowned out by the laughter from the Slytherin table.

She felt the blood rushing to her head, as she cried, "Let me down, you troll!"

"No, I don't think I will," said Jessica smugly.

James and Sirius pulled out their wands and tried to put her down. Lily stood up, trying to pull Rose down physically, but to no avail.

And then, she saw, right before her eyes, Remus standing up, with an expression of anger on his face. He had taken out his wand and pointed it directly at Jessica.

"Put her down!" he demanded, with a coldness in his tone that Rose had never heard before, "Don't make me hex you!"

But before Jessica could even reply, Professor McGonagall had arrived at the scene.

"Enough!" she cried. With the flick of wand she set Rose down gently on the floor. Rose stood still for a moment, steadied by Lily, as she regained her balance. She saw that Jessica still wore a smug expression on her face, and to her surprise, Severus too, was laughing.

"Miss Jones! I would never have expected such a cowardly display –" but Professor McGonagall stopped abruptly.

Rose, her normally brown-green eyes flickered with red, literally burning with fury, had just flung herself at Jessica, and, wand forgotten, slapped Jessica across her arrogant face. Jessica looked stunned, and to the surprise of the many on-lookers, had developed a large red patch on her face in the perfect outline of Rose's hand. It was blistering before their very eyes. Jessica did not realize this, but could feel the pain on her face that was unlike the pain of any slap she had ever felt before.

Rose swung her arm, ready to strike again, but was stopped mid swing. She looked around to see Severus holding on to her arm, his grip was strong, and painful. As he held her arm up high and still, everyone in the vicinity was clearly able to see the small flames enclosed within her hand.

"Let go!" demanded Rose angrily. She struggled a bit more, and then, after a small flash of red light, he let go, howling with pain.

"Rose! Lupin! _Enough_!" screamed Professor McGonagall, her lips dangerously thin.

Rose put down her arm, closing her fist to allow the flames to extinguish, still shaking in fury.

Jessica let out a loud moan, her hands clasping her face, feeling the blisters that continued to form on her mutilated face.

"Hospital wind, now, Ms Jones. And detention this evening, my office, seven pm."

As the Slytherins left the grand hall, Professor McGonagall turned to Rose and Remus.

"I have never been so ashamed of Gryffindor students!" she said, her voice dangerously low, and yet it seemed to carry across the whole of the Great Hall, "Detention, both of you."

"But that isn't fair!" exclaimed James in outrage, "Jessica attacked first!"

"Enough, Potter –"

"Remus was only defending –"

"_Quiet_, Mr Black, unless you want to join the rest in detention. I shall expect to see you," she added, turning to Remus and Rose, "in my office, tonight, seven pm."

Rose, furious and humiliated, and oblivious that the whole student body, and all the teachers, were starring at her, grabbed her bag and noisily stormed out of the great hall.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Rose spent the remainder of the day on the school grounds, hidden from the view of students passing to their herbology classes by thick trees and a well placed repelling charm. Upset by the morning's event, she had skipped all her classes, even her lunch and dinner.

'This must be my worst day at Hogwarts ever,' Rose thought to herself. She was upset at the trouble she had been involved in, frustrated by Jessica's cruelty, humiliated that she had been attacked in front of the whole school, ashamed that her body had been exposed for the eyes of all to see, betrayed by a Severus (not that she cared for him much, but he was a friend of Lily's, and that he would be involved in an attack on Lily's friend, Rose felt, was despicable), and worried about the trouble she would be in for causing serious burns to another student.

Above all, she had lost her temper, allowing her veela instincts to take over. She was worried about how everyone would react to the fire that flickered lightly in her palms. They had initially seen her veela ancestry as something special – some envied her; some felt like it was just an interesting detail. Now they would have realized it was more than good looks. It could be dangerous. Jessica was fortunate that Rose had some degree of constraint, had she not, the fire would have been drastically worse. It was her body's natural response to her anger, just as some people would become red in the face; Rose would produce fire in her palm.

As the day light began to dwindle, Rose conjured a small mirror from her dormitory. Checking her appearance in it, she saw that she was a mess. Her hair had leaves in it, her cheeks were tear-stained and her eyes were red and puffy. She had been crying, not much – she hated crying, however it was as difficult for her to control as the fire that erupts in her palm. One of the main reasons she had hidden in the grounds was to spare herself the shame of crying in front of others, especially Jessica. She wouldn't allow her that satisfaction.

After casting a few careful spells to remove the traces of crying from her face, Rose put away her mirror and books (to curb her guilt for skipping class, she had done some study while waiting for her detention), and made her way towards the castle and to McGonagall's office. She wondered whether she would receive another detention for skipping class, and hoped that she wouldn't have to see Jessica there.

Upon reaching the office, she knocked on McGonagall's door. "Enter," replied a voice she recognized as McGonagall's, and she entered the office, cautiously, not knowing what to expect.

She saw professor McGonagall standing by her desk. Jessica was absent, but Remus was already there, Rose noticed with a slit jolt. He was sitting in a make-shift desk which faced the offices only window, but his gaze was aimed directly at Rose. Rose wondered whether he was repulsed at all by her display of her veela powers, but she liked to think that he was a decent enough person to see her for the human that she is, and not for the small amount of uncontrollable veela traits within her.

"Good evening, Miss Wilson," said the professor. "You will spend the first 15 minutes of your detention writing lines, and the next 2 hours doing homework. But first –" she ignited her fireplace and threw in a handful of white powder, causing the fire to burn emerald green, " – the headmaster would like to see you."

"Professor Dumbledore?" asked Rose, surprised. From the corner of her eye, she saw Remus raise an eyebrow.

"The very same. Please step into the fire, and say clearly: Professor Dumbledore's office," she replied.

Rose did as she was told, and a few rather dizzy moments later, she found herself stepping into the office of Albus Dumbleodre. She had visited the room before, however the cascade of portraits and intricate silver devices that littered the room and the general sense of magnificence still left her awed.

Professor Dumbledore, who had stood up upon her arrival, smiled to her from behind his desk. Rose returned the smile awkwardly – part of her was relieved that his expression was soft, considering that she was in trouble. She felt rather intimidated by Dumbledore- not that he was not nice, he certainly was and Rose liked him very much – however, his status as the greatest wizard of modern times left her feeling awestruck whenever she was in his presence.

"Um, good evening, Professor. I was sent here by Professor McGonagall, I'm not really sure…" she started.

"Yes, I called for you. Please take a seat," he said, indicating to the seat across his desk. Rose sat down, as did Dumbledore. He reclined back in his chair, his blue eyes piercing into Rose's. It felt almost like he was looking in to her soul. She felt uncomfortable, and looked away, pretending to be interested in the instruments that littered his room.

"I was hoping we would be able to have a word about this morning's events," he began. Rose looked back at him. His expression was perhaps more serious, though not stern. Not knowing what to say, she simply nodded.

"I understand that you would have been very upset by Miss Jones' attack on you this morning. It was most uncalled for, cruel, some would say," he paused, leaning back in his chair, looking intently at Rose. "However, I was most interested in your reaction. As I said, your anger was rather understandable," at this Rose felt a slight blush appearing on her cheeks, "but it does not explain the injury Miss Jones sustained from your attack."

Rose held her breath, certain that he was about to reproach her for her uncontrolled outburst, tell that she was a danger to other students. The fear must have shown on her face – her eyes certainly betrayed her, she felt tears slowing gathering in her eyes – for Dumbledore said next,

"I do not wish to reproach you, far from it. I understand that you are part veela?" he said, with a slight though warm smile.

Rose, feeling slightly calmed, nodded.

"In that case, could you please explain what happened this morning? It was a curious incident, and I have never seen the likes of it."

"I lost my temper. I know I shouldn't have, but I couldn't help it," she said, almost pleading Professor Dumbledore to believe her, "But I didn't make the fire appear," she added, "it comes by itself when I am very angry, upset… embarrassed. I wasn't thinking when I slapped her, I wasn't even aware of the fire in my palm. I was controlling my temper as much as I could though, which stopped the fire from burning strongly."

Dumbledore nodded, starring at the wall behind Rose's head. He appeared deep in thought. Rose wondered what his remarkable brain was thinking at that moment, whether he believed that she hadn't meant to burn Jessica, but only to slap her.

"And, do you know why the fire appeared? I have never known this to occur with veela. As far as I knew, they transform completely when angered, not partially."

"Yes," said Rose, nodding. "Because I am only partially veela, I never transform totally, the fire only occurs in my palms, my eyes will also have red flickers in them… sometimes my hair will also look as if it is being blown violently by wind, even if there is none. But nothing more than that."

"As I suspected," he commented, nodding, smiling slightly. "As you can appreciate, part veelas are extremely rare, so I could find very little in the literature about your condition. Now, I was hoping you would be able to help me with a slight problem that has arisen in the hospital wing."

Rose was confused – how would she, an under-aged witch, be able to help?

"You see, our healer tried everything she could- Jessica has been in pain all day – but nothing would help in treating the burn on her face –"

"Oh!" cried Rose, "I forgot, I'm so sorry!" And, to the surprise of Professor Dumbledore, she rolled out her sleeve and held out her arm, apparently expecting that Dumbledore knew what to do.

His eyebrows slightly raised, he calmly said, "I'm afraid I must have missed something."

"You need my blood," said Rose, slightly nervous about what was to come. "It has to be added to the lotion used for healing the wound. Any standard burns healing lotion will suffice, as long as a tablespoons worth of my blood is added. Otherwise her wound will take weeks to heal, and even then it will scar terribly."

"I see," he said, this time with a rather serious expression. "May I?"

Rose nodded, allowing him to take her slender arm in his hand. His touch was gentle, warm, and, for someone of his age, rather firm. He drew his wand, conjured a small flask, and as he pointed the wand towards her arm, Rose cringed, looking away, awaiting the pain that she knew was about to come.

However, it did not come, and when Dumbledore let go of her hand, she turned towards him, surprised to see the blood already collected – she had not felt a thing.

Dumbledore smiled widely at her shocked expression, "I take it you expected more pain?"

"Yes!" she replied, confusion spread across her face. "It always hurt every other time I have done it!"

"If I may say so myself, my talent with the wand has allowed me to master spells in a way few others have. In this case, I can draw blood, without causing pain."

'He really is amazing,' thought Rose.

Dumbledore took out a small piece of parchment, scribbled a quick note and attached it to the flask of blood. He stood up, and tied the letter and flask to his bird's leg, saying softly, "Take this to the hospital wing, please, Fawkes."

The bird swiftly complied, circled the room once and swooped out the open window.

He turned to face Rose, looked at her with his piercing eyes for a second time, and finally spoke saying, "Do not allow anyone to make you feel inferior after this morning's act. You are as human and worthy of this school as anyone else."

Rose was taken back; he seemed to have known exactly what had bothered her. She nodded, smiling weakly, wishing it were as easy as that.

"Thank you Professor," she began, but her voice betrayed her, it cracked with emotion, her eyes became slightly glossy, wet. Her fear that she would not be accepted by her peers had finally caught up with her.

Dumbledore looked worried. "Would you like to share your thoughts, Miss Wilson? I am often told I am a good listener."

"I am just, afraid," she started, pausing to draw breathe and allow her body to calm down, and she continued with a stronger voice, "Afraid that people won't accept me anymore. That they might think I am a…a freak."

She didn't know why, but something about Dumbledore made her trust him, something about him told her that he really would be able to comfort her, that he would take her fear seriously.

"You are not a freak;" He said firmly, "Do not even allow anyone to convince you of that. You are a very talented, charming young lady, liked by many. Your uncontrolled ability to produce fire is nothing more than a mere technicality, something you will have to work slightly harder on to control, yes that is perhaps true, however it in no way makes you less human, or less worthy."

Rose smiled – it was exactly what she wanted to hear. And part of her, the part that spoke rationally, not emotionally, knew that he was correct.

"Not to mention, if anyone did happen to call you that, I very much think it would be due to jealousy of your veela ancestry, more than anything else. Now, I think it is best that you return to your detention, or else Professor McGonagall will be after _my_ blood for depriving her of her chance to discipline," he added, eyes twinkling.

Rose stood up, making her leave, but before stepping into the emerald green fire, turned towards the professor, and said, "Thank you sir, really, thank you," thinking that he really was as wonderful as people made him seem.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Rose emerged from the green flickering flames and into McGonagall's office, only to find her missing, and that she was now alone with Remus.

He was sitting in the same place she had left him, but when he realized she had returned, he stood up, and moved slightly towards her. Rose didn't move from her spot in front of the flames. She couldn't move. She was transfixed, horrified that she had was alone with Remus so soon, and painfully aware that her eyelashes still sparkled from the last remaining drops of the tears she had just shed.

Neither one of them moved or spoke for a moment, looking into each other's eyes, his eyes plagued with concern, hers with worry and a hint of fear. Finally, Rose, who could no longer stand the silence, spoke.

"Where is McGonagall?" she asked timidly.

Remus didn't show any sign that he had heard her speak, but after a few seconds he replied, "She was called to the Slytherin common room. Something about a major dung bomb explosion."

At any other time, this news would have been a cause for laughter, though neither Remus nor Rose so much as cracked a smile.

"You've been crying," he said, almost as though he had just reached the conclusion.

Rose said nothing, but she nodded, and as she did, she felt, against her will, her eyes swell with tears again.

Remus moved towards her, hugged her slightly, and then put his arm around her shoulders. Rose tensed initially at his touch, but quickly relaxed, allowing herself to take in his fresh scent, tears now rolling freely down her face. He steered her towards an armchair near McGonagall's desk and sat besides her, and asked, with a soft, soothing voice,

"What happened? Did Dumbledore tell you off? Are you in big trouble?"

Rose shook her head. She knew why she was crying, but she realized now, that, Remus at least, did not seem to think any less of her. However, she had to make sure, even if the truth might tear her apart inside.

"Remus?" she whispered, without looking at him.

"Yes?" he replied, almost as softly as Rose had spoken, as though afraid to raise his voice any higher than hers.

"Do you –" she stopped, chocked by her silent sobs. She took a deep breath, and started again, "Do you think any less of me? Do you think I'm a freak, after this morning?"

Remus gasped.

"Is that why you are crying?" he asked softly but loudly, his voice indicated that he was clearly shocked, almost unbelieving.

Rose nodded, slightly fearful.

Remus took her hand in his, and said, "Look at me."

Rose hesitated, but slowly turned towards him. Their eyes met, and as she blinked away her tears, could see the strong resolve in his. He squeezed her hand slightly, and said,

"Rose, you are not a freak. I don't know what happened this morning, but me and the others talked it over, we assumed it had something to do with you being a veela. It doesn't matter to us, you are still the same Rose, I can't understand why you think it would make a difference. Sirius even wished he could do it."

Rose felt herself relaxing, and Remus, who still held her hand, noticed it too.

"Rose, we are your friends," he added, rather passionately, his voice slightly louder. "When something happens to you, something beyond your control, something strange, something that doesn't happen to others, friends don't turn away from you – not when you need them most. They help you. They don't alienate you. When others would turn away from you, they turn towards you and say, you know what, I don't care. You are still the same person I've known and loved. Especially, when what happened was something as small and meaningless as a fire in your palm."

Rose looked at him, surprised. He spoke with the passion of a person who had lived through exactly what he had just described, even down to the shadow of pain in his voice. He didn't seem to realize this though, because he continued, undeterred by the worried expression Rose now wore.

"And," he added, giving her hand a slight squeeze before continuing, his expression becoming more concerned. Rose gazed at him, thinking how beautifully the expression suited him. "We have been worrying about you all day, when you didn't come to class, or lunch, or dinner. We looked everywhere for you. Lily was almost in tears."

"I'm sorry," began Rose, relieved by his words, though now feeling slightly guilty. "I was on the grounds, the whole day. I was ashamed… of what I had done to Jessica – I didn't mean to burn her – I would never mean to do anything that serious! And… I was afraid of the trouble I would be in, and of what everyone would think of me..."

She stopped, withdrawing her hand from his, and covering her face as she felt fresh warm tears roll down her cheeks.

Remus reached out an arm, hesitated slightly, and then put his arm around her shoulders. Rose let herself relax against him, and rested her head on his shoulder, brushing away her tears.

"Well, you know we don't care, your friends. It makes no difference to us. And I doubt most of the school thinks of it as anything more than a good chance to gossip," he added.

Rose smiled her first real smile since the morning. She was looking at the wall in front of her, without really seeing it, though Remus was looking down at her, and, when she smiled, she had felt him relax slightly beneath her, apparently relieved.

"And about Jessica, we know you didn't mean it. Did you get in trouble with Dumbloredore?" he asked, hesitantly.

"No," said Rose, relieved to find her voice steady. She had stopped crying, or at least, the tears had stopped flowing. "He was great actually. He needed to ask what happened, he didn't know. Well, I told him, because I'm part veela I get a bit, er, fired up, so to speak, when I get angry. I can't control it…" she added, more to explain to Remus what had happened that morning than anything else.

"He found that fascinating," she continued, "and then he told me they couldn't heal Jessica's burn. I explained they need to add my blood to the lotion. He took some blood. And then…"

Rose's voice trailed off, she didn't know whether she could stand to let Remus know she had cried before Dumbledore too, however, she quickly remembered that he had seen her tears when she entered, and so she continued,

"Then he noticed I was upset about something, and he asked, and I told him, what I just told you now. And he said, something like what you said…"

Remus gave her shoulders a squeeze, a sort of one armed hug, reassuring her that what he said was true. Rose wanted to thank him, he had relieved her so much – it was like a brick had been lifted off her heart. She looked up at him, lifting her head up slightly from his shoulder, and then froze, all thought of thanks forgotten, when she realized her face was only centimeters from his.

Her heart was pounding in her chest as she looked into his deep, brown eyes. She could hardly think, let alone move. All she could do was look at him, aware of how close she was to him, how alone they were, and how his expression now seemed to be a mirror image of what she felt inside her.

She couldn't bring herself to move away, and so, she slowly moved closer. She was so close; she could have counted his every eyelash, had she not been immersed by the look of soft, aching longing in his eyes. She reacted to it, feeling a surge of courage run through her body, and without thinking, or knowing, almost instinctively, she leaned forward and let her lips brush his, softly. She felt him tense, but she couldn't move away, and before she even had time to think about her next move, he had relaxed, tightened his hold on her shoulders, and kissed her back.

Rose sighed gently at the softness and warmth of his lips, but before she could truly appreciate the moment, she heard the door swiftly open. It happened so suddenly, that the silent room almost shook with the noise of the Professor McGonagall hurrying in. Rose gasped, and quickly pulled herself away from Remus, who had almost jumped out of his seat in shock.

Professor McGonagall stared at them for a moment, wearing an expression half way between surprise and indignation, her lips dangerously thin. Rose felt the heat rising in the deadly silent room – or perhaps, it was just the blush that had burst across her cheeks, at the thought of having her first kiss interrupted by none other than the sternest teacher at Hogwarts, and her head of house.

"Must I remind you that this is a _detention_," she said, her tone disapproving, though, surprisingly, softer than it usually was when she told off students. Rose thought she must still look like she had been crying, and that she had felt some sympathy for her. At that thought, a slight smile returned to her face, and as McGonagall continued to explain proper detention etiquette, though her gaze was directed towards her, she allowed her thoughts to wonder back to the student sitting besides her.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Rose left the detention at nine thirty that night, half an hour after Remus. He had been allowed to leave earlier because he arrived before Rose and because he did not have to see the head master.

Rose walked through the castle towards the Gryffindor tower – indeed she was almost floating, her face glowing from the memories of her detention. Short lived though it was, it was her first kiss ever, and above that, she couldn't think of a more worthy person to have shared the moment with.

However, beneath the bubble of happiness was a sharp shade of worry. She didn't know if she would see Remus in the common room, and if she did, she was clueless as to what to say. They had made little eye contact during the detention once McGonagall had arrived, and since he left early, they weren't able to talk about what had happened.

Rose finally reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, and, as she entered the common room, chanced a quick look around the room. Remus wasn't there, though Lily and the rest of the fifth year boys were seated around the fire.

Rose approached them from behind – they hadn't seen her yet. Lily was sitting in an arm chair, flicking through a book. Sirius, James and Peter sat on the floor, talking excitedly.

"Guess who," said Rose, leaning on the back of the armchair Lily was resting in. Lily jumped up in surprise, the book falling from her hands and hitting James on the head. She ignored his shout of pain and turned to Rose.

"Rose!" she said, as she hugged her tightly, "We were so worried! Remus just told us everything, I can't believe you thought we would think you were a freak!"

Rose grinning, rather sheepishly. "I know, I guess I was being paranoid. Still, I bet Jessica is telling anyone who will listen how much of a freak I am."

"Yeh, well, so what," said Sirius from the floor. "She's a good for nothing slime mould. And from what Remus said, she'll be fine."

"So are you going to teach us how to flame at the hand?" asked James eagerly, ruffling his hair with his fingers. "Bet it would come in handy when you've lost your wand in a duel, wouldn't it Sirius?"

"Suppose," he replied casually, "though I wouldn't fancy your chances of getting near enough to the enemy if he has a wand in his hand. Well, maybe you could… I could imagine you, trying to be tough, running your fingers through your hair, then your hair catches on fire because you had forgotten your hand was flaming."

Rose rolled her eyes and laughed as James started wrestling with Sirius.

"So, where is Remus anyway?" asked Rose, in what she hoped was a casual voice.

"He is in his dormitory," said Lily, "He arrived about half an hour ago, told us what happened and went up."

Sirius pushed James off, and looking up at Rose, asked,

"Do you know what's wrong with him?" he seemed slightly concerned, "He won't get out of bed and it's not even ten yet!"

"And he didn't even laugh when we told him about the dungbomb we set of in the Slytherin common room!" said James, as though he couldn't believe that a normal Remus would ever miss the chance to laugh as hard as possible at the prospect.

Rose was more interested in discussing Remus, though she realized he must not have told them about the kiss, and thought it was best not to appear too interested. Instead she pursued the topic of the dungbombs.

"Oh, that was you?" asked Rose.

"Yeh, they did it to get McGonagall off your back for a bit," said Lily, clearly amused, but rolling her eyes.

"Well, it definitely worked," said Rose happily, with a sparkle in her eyes that only Lily seemed to notice.

Rose gave her a meaningful look. She understood the hint and said,

"It's an early start tomorrow, I think we should go get ready for bed, Rose. You look exhausted," she said knowingly.

"Yeh, I am," she replied.

After saying good night to the boys, the two girls made their way up to their empty dormitory.

"So," said Lily, inquisitively, raising an eyebrow. "What aren't you telling me?"

"Okay, brace yourself for this one!" said Rose, allowing her excitement to take hold of her. "You know, when McGonagall left, to go to the Slytherins?"

"Yeh?"

"And she left Remus and me alone?"

"Yeh…" said Lily, her curiosity mounting.

"Well…"

"Hurry up Rose! The suspense is killing me!"

"We kissed!" exclaimed Rose, practically jumping when she said it.

"No way!" said Lily, clasping her hands to her mouth, her expression a cross between shock and pleasure.

"Yes!"

"Ahhh!!!" squeaked Lily, now jumping up and down, and giving Rose such a powerful hug that they fell over onto the bed behind Rose.

"No wonder he looked so dazed!" cried Lily. "I bet he was so happy, he likes you heaps, I can tell! Details, I want details!"

Rose started from the start, about how she had spent the day hidden on the grounds, to Dumbledore wanting to see her, to her moment alone with Remus, up until McGonagall interrupting their intimate moment.

"She came in?" said Lily, astonished. "She saw you kissing?"

"Yes! It was so embarrassing, Lily!' replied Rose. "McGonagall, of all people! And do you know what she said, when I left the detention?"

"What?"

"Good pick, he deserves a girl like you."

"What!?" cried Lily, giggling. "She said that? Seriously, McGonagall said that?"

"Yes! Can you believe it, I was so shocked. She must really like him, to have said that."

They continued to giggle for a while longer, until Rose finally asked, her tone a little more serious now,

"But Lily, what do I do now?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I mean, I know we kissed. Well, I kissed him, but he kissed back, so that means he is interested, yeh?"

"Of course he is. We've known it for ages," said Lily reassuringly.

"Right, so what do I say next time I see him?"

"Hmm…" said Lily, biting her lip, apparently thinking hard. "I don't know."

"I think, I should ask him out to Hogsmeade, the next time I see him," said Rose, more confidently than she felt. "I mean, that way, it will be more official, I guess, if he says yes. Because so far we only kissed, and we haven't even spoken a word since that. So, I don't know where we stand."

"Sounds like a plan to me," said Lily, grinning, "Now, let's plan how you're going to ask him out."

Giggling, Rose responded, "Yeh, let's!"


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Rose arrived late to breakfast the next morning. She had slept in, which she though probably had something to do with her staying up late the previous night thinking about Remus. She had been planning how to best ask him out, how she should act around him in the time before she managed to ask him out, whether he would really say yes, and most of all trying to convince herself to do it as soon as possible since the Hogsmeade weekend was only a few days away.

Rose entered the great hall as quietly and discreetly as she could, not wanting to draw attention to herself. It was the first time she had appeared in front of the school since yesterdays attack. As much as her friends had reassured her that no one would care much for her unique abilities, she was still slightly apprehensive about how she would be received.

The students did not fail to deliver, no sooner had she entered the hall did heads start turning her way, nudging and whispering to one another. As Rose walked past the Ravenclaw table, she caught a few lines of conversation:

" – look, it's her!"

"_See_, I _told_ you she wasn't expelled –"

" – apparently it's a veela thing –"

"Who cares, it makes her even hotter –"

"Hear, hear!"

Rose tried to pretend she couldn't hear, or see the curious second looks directed her way, but it was hard work trying not to giggle. 'Just ignore it,' she thought, 'Think about your plan with Remus. Oh no. 

Remus! He's sitting right across Lily!' Rose felt a nervous jolt in the depths of her stomach. 'Okay, stay calm, just stick with the plan. Be cool, and act like nothing happened until you get him alone.'

Rose finally made it to the Gryffindor table (with student's still looking at her). She took a seat to Lily's right, Remus sitting almost directly across her.

"Good morning!" she said cheerfully.

"Well, if it isn't our feisty friend," said Sirius cheekily, while the others simply replied good morning. Remus, she noticed, didn't look up at all, but had still muttered a reply.

Rose rolled her eyes, but let out a small giggle.

"So, why are you so happy today?" said Sirius, raising an eyebrow. Rose noticed some fourth year girls literally starring at him with love sick expression.

"Why shouldn't I be? The sun is shining, the birds are chirping…" she paused, grinned, then added, "and even though the students are staring, they don't seem too freaked out by the whole fire thing."

"Of course they aren't!" said Lily, "It looks like most of them are just enjoying the weeks gossip," she added, looking around the hall.

"Gossip…" Rose pondered slightly over the word, wondering why it sounded so familiar. "Gossip… Oh!" she said- it had just hit her, "That's what Remus predicted!"

Remus seemed startled at the mention of his name, finally looking up from his plate.

"I did?" he said dumbly, looking at Rose. Rose finally had a chance to look at him properly – her heart performing a slight leap at what she saw. He was as handsome as ever, his golden-brown curls hanging lazily over his forehead. He looked slightly tired, however. Rose wondered whether he was feeling sick.

"He did?" said James, looking confused. "I didn't hear him say anything!"

Rose laughed. "Maybe that's because you weren't there James. It was in the detention, he told me not to worry, that most students would only see it as good chance to gossip. Remember?" she asked Remus, smiling charmingly.

Remus nodded, smiling slightly, a small tinge of pink evident on his cheeks.

"Hold on," said Sirius, leaning forward and frowning slightly, "You were in detention, how did he manage to get a word in with McGonagall around?"

Rose raised any eyebrow. 'Hadn't Remus told them about last night? About the kiss?' she wondered.

"The dungbomb, remember? She left for a bit," explained Rose, "I came back from Dumbledore's office and she wasn't there. Remus saw that I was a bit upset. He comforted me a bit until, uh, until she came back."

Rose wondered why Sirius and James looked so shocked. Even Peter, who never really talked much in front of the girls, was looking at Remus with interest. Remus, on the other hand, was looking very uncomfortable, with a slight blush on his cheek.

Lily was clearly as confused as she was. Raising an eyebrow, she asked, 'What's the big deal?"

Remus shrugged, "Beat's me," he said simply.

"But Moony!" said Sirius, giving him a look. Rose had no idea what the look meant, though Remus apparently did.

He laughed, though Rose could tell he still felt uncomfortable. "Look mate, I just forgot to mention it. Trust me, I was dead tired last night. Didn't have a clue what was going on by the time McGonagall was done with me."

'They don't know…' thought Rose.

"Ah, yes," said James knowingly, though his silly grin ruined the effect. "I'm sure she left you feeling very light-headed. They can have that kind of effect on the best of us. No need to be ashamed mate, we understand," he added, patting Remus on the back.

Rose wondered fleetingly about the emphasis James had put on the word 'she'. Was he referring to McGonagall at all, or to Rose? His friends certainly seemed to have read deeper into the message than they were letting on, because Sirius roared with laughed, and even Peter managed a good chuckle. Remus grinned sheepishly and nudged James in the ribs, who just grinned good-naturedly and gave Remus a just-wait-until-later look.

The boys then changed the subject, and started having a wild conversation about something that sounded like a prank they were planning on pulling.

Rose took the chance to have a private word with Lily. She leaned over and whispered to her, "They don't know!"

Lily nodded, her eyes wide, she leaned in closer too, chancing a quick look at the boys to make sure they weren't being overheard and said, 'You're right, I don't think he told them. But that strange, isn't? He scored a kiss from the hottest girl in the school and he didn't even tell his best friends!"

Rose snorted, "Oh please, Lily. I'm not the hottest, not by a long shot."

Lily, grinned and rolled her eyes, "Stop being modest, you're part veela. Stop denying –"

She was cut off mid-sentence by a loud bang that seemed to have come from the Ravenclaw table. Rose, as well as every other person in the Great Hall, looked around to see what had happened. There was a large puff of smoke issuing from the Ravenclaw table.

"No, you can't!" cried a male voice from within the smoke. Through the haze Rose recognized him as a fourth year.

"I can and I will!" shouted another fourth year, sitting across him. They both seemed oblivious to the fact that every eye in the hall was fixed on them. Rose looked up anxiously to the teachers table and saw that Professor McGonagall was transfixed, watching the scene unfold. She found this strange; as she was usually the type of teacher to come rushing down to prevent disputes from going overboard. This dispute, it seemed, had left her stunned.

The first boy jumped up and yelled, "I'll beat you to it!"

He jumped up from his seat and started running between the Ravenclaw and Griffindor tables. The second boy let out a cry of outrage, jumped from his seat and over the table- knocking over much food and milk in the processes, but he seemed oblivious to this.

Everyone watched stunned as both boys ran, and Rose felt her mouth drop open as the first boy came to a stop directly in front of her.

"Rose, will you –" he began but he was cut off by the second boy, who was still running forward, wand raised.

"_Petrificus totalus_!" he cried.

The first boy fell to the ground, stiff as a board, as students around the hall gasped. Rose saw, from the corner of her eye, Professor McGonagall finally rising from her seat. She looked at the boy astonished, and only looked up when she realized the boy who had shot the hex had propped himself on table right next to Rose.

He smiled at her, with what he obviously thought was his most charming smile, ran his fingers through his hair in way that resembled James so much that Rose would have laughed had she not been so stunned, and asked –

"So, want to go to Hogsmeade with me?"

There was a stunned silence as everyone starred at the boy now sitting on the Gryffindor table. Finally, it was broken by Sirius who started laughing so hard that he was banging his fists on the table, tears in his eyes. The laughter was contagious – the silence was broken and almost everyone in the hall seemed to be laughing. Some gave soft chuckles, while others, like Sirius, were laughing hard, hanging on to their friends for support and wiping tears from their eyes.

Rose, however, was not laughing. She was simply starring at the boy in astonishment, lost for words.

He seemed to be getting nervous at her lack of reply, and his smile falter a bit. They were immediately joined by Professor McGonagall, however, and Rose was no longer obliged to reply. Shaking her head in disbelief, she looked past the boy and noticed the only person on the Gryffindor table, other than herself, who was not laughing.

Remus. He was looking down at his plate, stabbing his food gently, carelessly, with is fork. He looked uncomfortable, anxious even. Rose was surprised, but though that perhaps he was nervous about what she was going to say to the boy. That she might say yes to him. Or, perhaps, it was the secret knowledge of the kiss they had shared last night, a kiss, that apparently, a number of Hogwarts male students would do anything to get, that made him feel nervous.

No one else seemed to notice this however, and Rose turned her attention to Professor McGonagall who had revived the fallen boy, and was now yelling at the two. Luckily for them, the hall was now noisy enough that no one other than those nearby could really hear.

"Well, Rose, congratulations!" said Sirius comically, "Even I haven't had girls fighting shamelessly over who gets to ask me out first!"

"Yeh, I think we have a new record." added Lily. She was clearly enjoying herself.

Before Rose could reply, Professor McGonagall intervened.

"Ms Wilson, may I have your attention for a moment? These young men had something to say to you."

Rose looked at the two boys expectantly. The one who had asked her out was avoiding her gaze, his cheeks slightly red.

"I'm sorry I embarrassed you in front of the whole school Rose."

"Umm… that's alright. No worries," said Rose, who didn't know whether she should blush or giggle. Instead she kept her staggered expression, which perhaps best reflected the shock she felt at the lengths the two young men had gone to ask her out.

"And you, Mr Sutherland?"

Rose now looked at the boy who have been hit by the body binding curse.

"I'm sor –" he began, but cut himself off mid-sentence when he looked up at Rose. "I'm so-sor –"

He paused, thought for a moment, and then said, "Will you go to Hogsmeade with me?"

"Sutherland!" shouted McGonagall, as those listening started to laugh. Rose couldn't help herself, and let out an embarrassed giggle.

"Alright, alright! I'm sorry!"

With that, McGonagall began to usher them away, but not without telling them off. They could clearly hear her saying;

"20 points from Ravenclaw, each. Really now, targeting a poor young woman who isn't even available!"

Rose felt her insides freeze. For the second time that morning, she sat still, stunned at what she had just heard.

"Isn't even available?" said Sirius, flabbergasted.

"Since when?" demanded Nicole, who had just taken the seat next to Rose, unable to keep away from the centre of attention.

Rose panicked; she didn't know what to say. McGonagall had obviously been referring to the kiss she caught her and Remus engaged in. She chanced a quick look at Remus – his face slightly pinker than usual, and was deliberately avoiding eye contact with her.

"I, umm… well, I" stuttered Rose, her head blank.

"Well?" pressed Nicole. "Spill!"

Everyone was looking at her now. James, Sirius and Peter watched curiously, clearly wanting to know who the lucky man was. Lily watch, transfixed, and even Remus had looked up, his gaze fixed on her, his expression curious… almost unbelieving. Rose was immediately struck with a thought.

She cleared her throat, and said, "Well, let's just say, I'm not technically taken, but I'm not entirely available either…"

Nicole squeaked, "Congratulations!" but Sirius cut in, asking, "But who is the guy?"

Lily raised an eyebrow and asked, "Why do you care, anyway, Black?"

Sirius held up his arms in defense, "Hey, I'm just curious! This is going to be big news, just you watch. Although I reckon the lucky fellow might just have to watch his step. With anymore boys like those two running around, I don't much fancy his chances of making it through term alive."

"Who is it, Rose?" demanded Nicole, she was besides herself with excitement.

Rose laughed nervously. "Look, there's nothing happening yet… at all." Rose took a deep breath, mustered all the courage she could to continue with her plan and, while avoided looking at Remus, said, "I'm not sure how he feels about me, but, I really like him, and, um, well… I'll let you know if anything happens."

She said it. Her heart was beating 100 miles an hour, her face was warm ('I hope I'm not blushing too much,' she thought), and now all she could do is hope that Remus took the hint.

Nicole wasn't content. "But how does Mcgonagall know?" she persisted.

Rose stopped smiling at that question.

"Good question, Nic," added James, "How on earth does she know when we didn't even have a clue?"

If Rose hadn't been blushing before, she definitely was now. She had chanced another look at Remus, disguising it by pretending to be looking around at all the people listening in on the conversation. She noticed him grimace slightly when Nicole had asked the question, however, other than that; he was pretending to be vaguely interested just like the others. 'Good acting, too,' thought Rose admiringly.

"She, er, well she… she kinda saw us… together."

"Together? Doing what?" asked Sirius mischievously. James chuckled lightly.

"Just together, Mr Black!" said Rose defensively. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm off to class!"

Rose stood up leave, accompanied by Lily. As she turned to leave, she noticed, before she left, with a slight flutter of her stomach, that Remus was toying with his food again, looking, if possible, confused, slightly hopeful, but sad all at the same time.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

By the time Rose and Lily had left the great hall, Lily was laughing heartily.

"_What_ is so funny, Lily?" asked Rose, raising an eyebrow, as she sat at the bottom of a staircase.

Between giggles, Lily replied, "Didn't you see Jessica?"

"No…" said Rose, smiling curiously, "What happened?"

"She is furious! Literally furious!" said Lily, delighted. "I've never seen her so annoyed. I think she must be jealous because no guys have ever embarrassed themselves so badly in front of the whole school for her before."

Rose chuckled, "Well, it's not like I enjoyed it anyway. That was just embarrassing. It probably doesn't help that I burned her face in front of the whole school just yesterday either, and that people still don't seem to car. Anyway, forget that! What did you think of the hint I dropped to Remus?" asked Rose enthusiastically.

Lily straightened up, no longer giggling, but her eyes sparkling with delight. "That," she said, "was genius."

"Thanks, I know it was. I surprise myself sometimes!" said Rose jokingly. "Do you think he took the hint? I was indicating that I like him… and that I don't know how he feels about me. Like it wasn't obvious I liked him anyway. I kissed him!"

"Don't worry, he's a smart one. I think he must have figured it out. I mean, it was obvious you were talking about him, given the context of McGonagall catching you 'together'."

"Yeh," said Rose, starting to feel nervous. "But what if, you know, he doesn't feel the same?" she added, biting her lip in concern.

"Rose, I'm sure he does. I spend a bit of time with him every week doing prefect duties… I think I can tell how he feels. I've seen the way he looks at you too. I've never seen him look at a girl like that before," she said reassuringly.

"Blah, Lily, you rock!" said Rose, giving her friend a bear hug.

"Blah?" asked Lily, laughing. "What on earth is that?"

Rose laughed, "Sorry, it is just something I picked up from a muggle neighbour back in Australia."

"Right then. Blah." she said, comically.

Rose suddenly remembers something that had been bothering her since yesterday.

"Hey Lils," she said seriously. "I was meaning to ask, you saw the way Snape acted yesterday, didn't you? He was gleeful at seeing me hang in the air!"

"Yeh, I noticed that," said Lily, frowning slightly. "I think he was happy for the chance to perve at your legs."

Rose gasped, "Lily! He wasn't?!"

Lily grinned, "No, he wasn't. I was just kidding. Sorry I couldn't help it. Hey! Don't –"

Rose cut Lily off, punching her playfully.

"But I noticed a lot of guys where starring pretty stupidly. Transfixed, you could say."

"Oh no!" said Rose, clasping her face in her hands. "How shameful! It's a good thing I was wearing knee length tights! Imagine if she made me show off my knickers to the whole school. I would still be hiding from shame."

"It's alright, it wasn't that bad. Really, there wasn't much to see."

"I guess. Anyway, back to Snape, Lily. He was so mean! I thought, you know, being your friend and all, he wouldn't have been so cruel to people you care about!"

"I know, I was a bit surprised about his behavior too… It wasn't like him to do that."

"Really, Lily?" asked Rose softly, it was more than just a question, it was a challenge. Her expression clearly showed her doubt.

"Please, don't you start on me too, Rose!" demanded Lily, "He is a nice person, seriously! Look, I'll talk to him about what happened. And, I'll get you to come join us for a potions study session; you can get to see how he really is, okay?"

Rose didn't much like the idea of having to spend any more time with Snape, but she didn't want to disappoint Lily, so she said okay.

"Thanks, Rose. Just give him a chance, you will like him too, I'm sure. Now, we better get going to Charms or we'll be late."

Students had already started making their way out of the Great Hall.

"Oh, were you still planning to catch Remus alone today to ask him out?"

"Oh, yeh!" said Rose, she had almost forgotten about her plan, "Yeh, I was thinking, I'll try to catch him after double charms, we both have a free and his friends have class…"

"Great, good luck Rosie!" said Lily, giving her a hug of encouragement. Now, we really better get going, before Flitwick skins us alive!"

Remus sat at the Gryffindor table, watching Rose leave the Great Hall with a pained expression. Sirius Black was watching his friend curiously. He sighed heavily, stood up, and moved to sit on Remus's left. Remus looked at him, surprised, but a trace of pain and confusion was still evident in his eyes. Sirius checked to see that no one other than James and Peter was listening, and patted Remus firmly on the back.

"It's alright, Moony." said Sirius. "I'm sure he's a git, whoever he is."

"Yeh, I wonder who it is though?" mused James. "She said she wasn't sure how he felt… maybe if we figure out who he is before Rose gets another chance to talk to him, we can convince him that she is not all that."

Remus smiled, a strained smile, almost as if he did it against his will, though he did not bothering to correct his friends, who had misunderstood what had upset their friend.

"And how do you suppose you are going to do that?" he asked in an amused voice.

"Slip him a love potion, maybe?" suggested Peter. "So he will like someone else?"

"Oh, fiendish, Peter. I'm impressed," said James, nodding. "Sounds like a plan."

Remus laughed, "Don't you guys go snooping around, now!"

"But Remus –" protested Sirius.

"Look, even if you can get this guy to forget about her, you can stop her from liking him." Remus paused. He looked confused again, and slightly worried. He hesitated, and asked, "You don't suppose she really does like him, do you? I thought she sounded pretty serious about it. "

James looked at him with a kind of sad smile, "Yeh, sorry, Moony. She seemed pretty in to him. And they seem to have had some action going on already. Snogging, probably, and caught by McGonagall too!"

Sirius snorted, "He must be such an amateur."

Remus blushed ever so slightly. Peter and Sirius did not seem to notice, though James, who had been watching Remus closely, did.

"Best not to think about them snogging, mate. Trust me, I know," he suggested. He sighed, "Three years of rejection, you'd think a man would learn."

"Can't say I know the feeling personally." said Sirius, grinning mischievously at Remus.

"Easy for you to say," said Peter dully. The mood seemed to be infectious. Both Peter and James where sulking slightly, no doubt thinking about their less than adequate love lives. "Mr girls-go-crazy-when-I-smile-at-them."

"Come on boys, cheer up!" said Sirius, exasperated now, though amused. "James, well, I'm afraid I can't do anything about Lily for you. Peter, you haven't got a crush on anyone, have you? So until you do, I can't help much. Remus," Sirius paused, standing up, and looking down at his friend. "I'm going to find out who the bloke is. Even if we can't change what is going on between them, we can at least pull a few hexes on him."

Remus did not argue, he bit his lower lip, as though fighting back a laugh. Sirius literally dragged him out of his seat and pulled him by the arm off to charms class. Peter and James followed, none of them realizing that Remus had slipped back into deep thought, his expression as forlorn and confused as it had been earlier, though now with a tinge of guilt.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

Rose flicked her wand, muttered the incantation, but nothing happened. She was not surprised though – with five minutes left to the end of their charms class, she was feeling extremely nervous, much too nervous to be able to concentrate on performing the lessons assignment.

Sirius looked over at her from his desk, which was only a few meters away.

"You should have been making progress by now, Rose," he said smugly, his own pineapple successfully peeling itself then reverting back to its original form. "Looks like someone has her mind on something … or should I say, some_one_."

He winked at her, but Rose just rolled her eyes, shook her head and turned away from him. She was too nervous to come up with a smart remark, as she usually would when Sirius teased her. She turned to Lily instead, and whispered,

"Lily, I don't know if I can do this!"

"Just relax, Rose. Take a deep breath. Honestly, you look like you might just faint!" said Lily. She screwed up her face and cast the incantation, her wand pointed at her pineapple, which promptly started to peel itself.

"Just remember the plan. Catch him alone while he is on break, don't worry about his friends interrupting because they have class, be honest, tell him how you feel and ask him out. You reckon he might go to the library, right?"

"Yeh, he usually does. But he might go to the common room. It will be quiet there, since most students will have class. I'll see if I can follow him once he leaves charms."

Rose paused for a moment, nervously biting her bottom lip, "What if I can't get him alone?"

"Then you will just have to try another time."

Rose looked up at Remus. He was concentrating pretty hard on his pineapple. He was doing well – it was peeling itself, but not very neatly. Sirius muttered something to him, and he burst out in laughter and accidently knocked his pineapple on to the floor. Rose watched as he leaned over to pick it up, still laughing. As he straightened up, he made eye contact with Rose, and saw that she was looking at him. His smile waned slightly, but he nodded to her politely, though nervously, and looked back to his friends.

Rose looked away, slightly embarrassed at having been caught looking at him. Then, much to her horror, Professor Flitwick announced that it was the end of the class. The students all started to pack up, and Rose felt a terrible knot forming in her stomach.

"Relax!" said Lily soothingly. "Look, I'm sorry, I have to run off to class, but I promised Snape I would do some Potions work with him on the courtyard at lunchtime. We are going to have our lunch their too while we work. Meet me there, okay? I'll be there if you need me."

Lily gave a frozen Rose a reassuring hug, and ran off to her next class. Rose looked over at the Marauders. She heard James asking Remus where he was going to spend his break. Rose moved closer so that she could hear his reply.

"Library, I guess." he said, shrugging. Rose watched him carefully, ready to look away immediately if he turned his head towards her. She saw that he looked slightly worried about something. Rose wondered whether it had anything to do with the kiss.

Rose followed the marauders out of the classroom. Remus was making his way with them. She assumed he would walk with them until he had to part directions to go to the library. Not wanting he be seen following him, Rose slipped away into a bathroom, wanting to check her reflection before she approached him. She applied a thin layer of lip gloss, just to add some extra shine, added a little bronzer to her cheeks and styled her hair with her wand, so that it hang around her face in the most flattering fashion. The changes were subtly, but the effect was amazing. She looked more beautiful than usual, which is hard to imagine since she was already part veela. Content with her appearance, she made her way to the library. She was impressed that she was even able to walk at all; her legs felt like jelly.

After what felt like an eternity, Rose reached the library. She stood outside the door for a full minutes, not looking inside, afraid of what she was about to do. Finally, she took a deep breath, told herself to act more like a Gryffindor, and walked in to the library.

She looked around, allowing her eyes to take in the scene. She couldn't see Remus, and started to worry that he might not be there. She walked towards the back of the library, still searching, and she finally saw him. He was sitting, not at a desk or table, but rather on a sofa in a rather secluded corner, alone. He was reclining back casually, his hands behind his head, gazing in to space. His expression was slightly hard to read. It was slightly troubled, thought thoughtful. He was biting his lower lip, something that Rose had noticed he tended to do much when he was in deep thought.

She stood back for a while, hidden by a book shelf, watching him. He didn't move much. Rose allowed herself to take in his features. She loved the way a small, horizontal crease appeared between his eyebrows, as he frowned slightly every now and then. She watched his lip which he was softly biting. She found herself remember their kiss. It was only last night, and yet it felt weeks.

Remus lifted his hand up to him mouth, touching it gently, looking confused. Rose wondered whether Remus was thinking about her too, about their kiss, and about the hint she had given him just hours earlier at breakfast.

Remus smiled slightly at some thought, then sighed, finally leaning forward for his bag and pulling out his books. Rose decided it was time to act. She adjusted her hair slightly; glad that no one would be able to see her talking to Remus, since he was seated in a very secluded area, and hoping that Remus wouldn't be able to hear her heart beating like a hammer in her chest. She stepped out from behind the book shelf.

Remus hadn't noticed her, he was dipping his quill in to his ink well, eyes on his parchment.

"Remus," said Rose softly, but just loud enough to make her presence known.

Remus jumped at the sound of his name, his quill fell from his hand, spilling droplets of ink on to his parchment. He looked up he see who had called him, and, as their eyes meet, Rose saw his eyes widen with shock.

They looked at each other, neither of them saying a word, for what felt like hours, though Rose knew it can't have been more than half a minute. Rose allowed her eyes to explore his. They seemed surprised mainly, though, as she looked, Rose thought she saw and a hint of fear, and, to her pleasure: _longing_.

Rose felt it was time to break the silence, and so asked, "Do you mind if I join you?"

Remus blinked at her for a moment, looking confused, and then realization spread across his face, and he stood up, and said,

"Oh, of course! I'm sorry. Yes, um, take a seat please."

He moved his books of the only available part of the sofa, the seat right besides him. Rose sat down awkwardly, not sure how she should start the conversation, but, to her relief, it was Remus who spoke first.

"Are you feeling better about the attack Jessica pulled?" he asked. Rose was relieved to see that his voice was strong, determined, though casual, as if they hadn't just shared their first kiss the night before. She knew he was faking it though. He was nervous – she could see it in his eyes.

"Yes," she said, smiling. "No one has been cruel to me about it. I'm glad. It seems I was worried for nothing."

Remus nodded, smiling. "Yeh, I knew it would be fine."

Rose didn't know what to say, and so said nothing. The silence was awkward. Remus pretended to be interested in blotting ofo the ink drops from his parchment. She had only one thing on her mind, though. She felt like her heart might over explode from how hard it was beating. It was now or never…

"Remus?" she said.

He looked up, expectantly. "Yes?" he asked.

"It's Hogsmeade this weekend," she said simply, smiling nervously, hoping he would catch on.

"Oh, yeh… this will be your first trip, won't it?"

Rose nodded, not saying anything. She moved a little closer towards Remus, until they were sitting side by side. Her heart was racing. Remus was frozen, not moving at all, but not looking directly at her either. Rose reached out, and took his hand in hers. She heard Remus sharply drawing breath as their skin toughed. Her hands were trembling slightly, she looked up at him, but he was looking at his hand in hers, watching her fingers caress his own, his expression back to that of confusion.

"Would you like to accompany me to Hogsmeade?" she asked, finally, her voice trembling slightly, no loader than a whisper. "As, a… a date?"

Rose felt his hand stiffen in hers. He looked up her, meeting her eyes. Rose watched him nervously as he watched her. His gaze was so intense, it made her blush. There was no mistaking the longing in his eyes, nor the pain. Rose waited, wondering how, and why, he could be feeling so many emotions at the same time.

"No. I'm sorry, Rose," he said finally, looking away from her, freeing his hand from hers. "I don't think that will be a good idea."

Rose was stunned. She simply starred at him, her expression blank, not believing what she had just heard. Hadn't he just been gazing at her, with an expression of longing? Or had she, being so desperate for him to say yes, imagined it, or misread his expression?

"No?" she repeated.

He simply shook his head, not looking at her.

"But," she started, and she could now feel a lump forming in her throat, "Yesterday, you kissed me… I thought –"

Remus looked at her. He seemed upset.

"I know. I'm sorry, Rose. I didn't mean to give you false hope. It's just that, you kissed me first, and I didn't know what to do… I was caught off guard, so I kissed you back…"

Rose watched him as he spoke these words, the tears finally welling up in her eyes, so that his sympathetic and apologetic face turned in to nothing more than a blur. She blinked her eyes rapidly, turning away from him, trying to hide her tears. She didn't understand, she had been so sure… and Lily too…

"Rose, please don't cry!" he urged, his voice slightly louder than it had been through the whole conversation. "I don't want you to be upset."

Rose couldn't look in to his eyes, she felt too ashamed of the tears now streaking down her face. She grabbed her bag, stood up, and without a second look, ran out of the library, away from Remus. She heard him calling her back, recognized the panic in his voice, but not understanding it. She didn't stop, she couldn't. She ignored the alarmed looks of students studying in the library, saw, for a split second, the satisfied smirk of Jessica Jones. But she didn't stop.

She ran all the way to the common room, and mercifully, it was empty. She stopped, allowing herself to catch her breath, and then made her way slowly up to her dormitory, tears flowing freely down her cheeks, glad there was no one present to see her cry.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

Rose stared at herself in her bedside mirror. She looked horrible. Her eyes were red and puffy, her lips looked sore, her cheeks were tear-stained and her hair was a mess. She had been in her room for almost an hour. Although she had forced herself to stop crying ten minutes or so after having arrived to the Gryffindor common room, she had still let out a tear or two every now and then.

Rose looked at her reflection, taking in the confused and desperate expression on her face. After an hour of thinking, she still had not come to terms with that had happened. She did not understand why Remus had rejected her. She had been shocked to learn that he had kissed her back out of surprise more than anything else. Could that even happen? She thought to herself, did people really kiss others out of surprise? Rose could not imagine herself doing so. But then, she had been crying at the time... she supposed Remus, being the kind-hearted person he was, would not have wanted to hurt her feelings by moving away from her.

And then there was the unmistakable look of longing in his eyes. Rose was sure she had seen it, more than once. But, as she had told herself many times already, she must have miss read his expression. If he really did long for her as much as his eyes indicated he did, he would not have rejected her.

Rose sighed deeply, taking out her wand. It was lunchtime and she wanted to find Lily. She needed comfort. It was, after all, her first time being rejected, and that is was by a wizard who she had very strong feelings for only made the situation worse. She knew she couldn't walk out of her dormitory looking like she did.

Concentrating hard, Rose began working on her appearance, removing the evidence of tears from her face. It didn't work as well as she had hoped- she was feeling too emotional to cast the spells properly, though it was a decent enough attempt that she could walk around the school without arousing too much suspicion. She put on a pair of sunglasses, just to be safe; she was not up for explaining to anyone other than Lily why she had been crying.

Rose made her way to the court yard to find Lily. She was glad that most other students were now having lunch. This saved her the trouble of having to avoid anyone she knew.

Rose spotted Lily sitting with Severus Snape in the court yard immediately, as they were the only people outside. Lily had her back towards her. Severus was facing her, though as he was flicking through a book, he hadn't seen her approaching.

"Guess who," she muttered miserably as she sat down besides Lily on the court yard floor. She was glad to see they had placed a blanket on the ground, and that it was surprisingly warm. She assumed they had placed a warming spell on it.

Lily gasped, and looked up at her friend. Severus did not speak, though raised an eyebrow in her direction.

"Rose, you scared me! I wasn't –" Lily cut herself off as she Rose took off her glasses, and she saw her glum expression. "What's wrong?"

"What do you think?" she replied, giving Lily a knowing look.

"No, no way," said Lily slowly, shocked, "He didn't?"

Rose bit her lip, and felt the tears forming in her eyes again. She did not want to cry, not in front of Severus, but she could not help it. Talking to someone about something painful always seemed to bring tears to her eyes, as if sharing the information somehow made the situation worse, more real.

She nodded her head, looking at the blanket, blinking her eyes rapidly in an attempt to control her tears.

Lily reached over and held Rose in a tight hug. Rose allowed herself to be comforted.

"I don't understand," said Lily. "This makes no sense…"

Rose pulled away from Lily, wiping her tears away from her eyes. She took a deep breath, and when she felt steady enough to talk, she said,

"I know… I don't understand either. I – he…" Rose let her voice trail of, and looked uncertainly at Severus. He was eyeing her with a certain interest. Rose remembered how he had laughed at her just the day before.

"I'm sorry, were you expecting me to leave?" he asked.

Rose glared at him. She did not want to send him off – after all, he had a study session with Lily and she was the one interrupting. She didn't mind speaking in front of him either, since Jessica had already seen her crying, she suspected most of the school would soon have an idea that something had happened to her. Though Jessica hadn't seen her with Remus, so, Rose thought, it would be okay if he stayed, as long as she did not mention his name.

"It depends – are you going to laugh at me?" she asked suspiciously.

Severus frowned slightly. "Why would I do that?"

"Hmm… let's see," said Rose sarcastically, "It couldn't have something to do with the way you laughed at me when I was ruthlessly spun upside down?"

Severus opened his mouth to retort, but upon seeing Lily's angry but meaningful expression, he closed it again. He sighed slightly, then said,

"Yes, well about that, I'm sorry… It was only meant to be a little fun… I realize now that it was not the nicest thing to do."

He spoke with a certain coolness, boarding on indifference. Rose was uncertain whether he was being sincere. However, she saw that Lily was now smiling besides her, and, not wanting to hurt her feelings, she nodded to Severus, indicating she had accepted his apology.

"So, I can stay?" he asked coolly.

"Yes. But Lily, don't mention anything that might allow him to guess who it is. Okay?"

"Of course. Now, what happened?" said Lily, looking at her friend in concern.

Rose sighed. She was no longer crying now and she as glad for it. She told Lily what happened, leaving out the details that might allow Severus to guess that she was talking about Remus.

"And then I ran away, he called for me to come back, but I didn't. Jessica saw me running, she was smirking. She can't have known what had happened, but she only needed to check the place I had ran away from and see R – I mean him there to figure out what had happened…"

Rose felt her heart racing slightly. She had almost let slip that it was Remus who had rejected her. She did not want Severus to know this piece of information, not just yet. The two boys did not get along well, after all.

"Forget about her," said Lily. "She is just evil, plain evil. I just can't believe he rejected you… he must be insane…"

"Or we must have read the signs wrong…" suggested Rose.

"Sorry to interupt," said Severus. "But, am I to understand, that you asked out someone, and he rejected you?"

"Yes," said Rose, surprised at his tone. "Why do you sound so unbelieving?"

"Well," he said, smirking slightly, though not in an unfriendly way, "you might not have noticed, but most of the schools male population seem to act like they have never seen a female before when you are around… it seems unusual that someone would actual say no to _you_, of all people, when others are literally fighting for the chance to ask you out, as we saw this morning."

Rose felt herself blushing. She was not used to men talking about her in that way, especially not Slytherins like Severus.

"Even the Slytherins?" she asked, curiosity getting the better of her.

"Why not? We are men too, aren't we?" was his reply.

Rose stared at him blankly for a moment. He had included himself in that statement. Surely, he hadn't meant imply that he, Severus Snape, the cold-hearted, greasy haired loner, thought her to be beautiful also?

"So, what are you suggesting, Sev? Why did you mention that you found it strange?" asked Lily.

"Well, you girls both thought that he liked her, and from what Rose said, he kissed her –"

"Yes, but I already said –" started Rose.

"I know. But I don't buy it," interrupted Severus. "From what you said you had seen longing in his eyes. There must be another reason why he rejected you, something he is hiding."

Rose was startled by this view point, though not as startled as she was at the thought that Severus was actually trying to help her decipher her love-life mystery. It seemed like her world had turned upside down – the person she thought was interested in her rejects her, now the wizard who had opened laughed at her was helping her. Perhaps, she had been too hard on him. He was being nice to her now, after all.

Rose turned to look at Lily, frowning slightly. "What do you think? Could he be hiding something?"

"No," she replied, after a moment's thought, "It doesn't make sense. What could he have to hide? If he liked you, he would have said so. What could make him say no even though he didn't mean it? Unless he was already seeing someone, but I know for a fact that he is single."

Rose sighed, "I guess, he really just doesn't like me…"

She felt a lump forming in her throat again. It must have shown on her face, because Lily patted her on her back again.

"Don't cry, Rosie. I know it must be hard… but, it will be alright. How about I hex him for you, next time I see him?"

Rose laughed meekly, "No, I still like him, you know… I wouldn't want to see him hurt."

"There are plenty of other guys who will have you, you know. Why don't you try someone else?" suggest Severus.

Rose looked at him, feeling slightly disgusted. He raised an eyebrow and asked, "What?"

"How cheap do I look? Just because I'm part veela, doesn't mean I plan to jump from one guy to another."

"Rose!" cried Lily, shocked, "I'm sure he didn't mean it that way!"

Severus looked taken back.

"I wasn't implying that you're cheap," he said simply, his voice slightly apologetic.

"I'm sorry," muttered Rose, feeling slightly embarrassed at her outbreak, "I guess being rejected has left me feeling a little touchy. Surely you know the feeling? Wanting someone, but not being able to have him, or for you, her?"

He looked away from Rose, his eyes moved towards Lily, lingered there for a split second, and then moved to study the outline of the castle. His face was expressionless, when he said, "Vaguely. I've never seen a person actually cry because of rejection, though. What's so great about this guy anyway, that got you so worked up?"

Rose looked at him for a moment, contemplating his question, before she replied,

"Everything."


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

Rose did not see Remus again that day, partly because she did not have any more classes with him, and partly because she refused to have dinner in the Great Hall, for fear of seeing him. Instead, she ate alone in the Gryffindor common room. Lily had bought her up some food though she was unable to join her as she had promised Nicole that they would discuss a group assignment over lunch.

Rose had not cried again after talking with Lily and Severus, though in truth, this was more due to a calming charm that Severus had cast on her when she became teary for the fourth time in his company ("I hate seeing people crying, it annoys me," he had said, shrugging). Although she certainly was calmed, it did not abate her sadness in the least, and while she shed no more tears, she clearly wore the expression of a distressed person. However, Rose thought the charm might be fading; she felt considerable less calm than she had an hour ago.

Rose was half way through her meal when she heard the common room door open. Shocked that someone would be back from dinner this early, she whirled around to see who it was, hoping it was not Remus. To her relief, it was Sirius Black. He was walking towards her, alone.

"Hey," he said, reclining back in the armchair besides her.

"Hi, why aren't you at dinner?" she asked.

"Wasn't that hungry. I snuck a snack earlier from the kitchens."

Trust Sirius to do something like that, thought Rose, though she couldn't help but suspect he might have an ulterior motive.

"So why didn't you just hang out with your friends?" she asked. "There could have hardly been anything worth doing in the common room."

"Well," said Sirius, raising his eyebrows, "I might just ask you the same question. Why are you eating here, alone?"

"Can't a girl fancy a quiet dinner for a change?"

"Nope," said Sirius simply, giving her a wink. His expression became slightly more serious when he said, in what Rose thought must have been the most matter-of-fact tone he could possibly muster, "I'm not stupid, you know. I noticed you were upset about something in our class before dinner."

"Wow, I'm amazed you haven't been moved up to sixth year already," said Rose sarcastically, though in a friendly way. Inwardly, she wondered just how many details Remus had already given him, and why he was pursuing the matter with her. Perhaps Remus had asked Sirius to talk to her on his behalf – knowing that she must have been avoiding him- to calm her down and make sure she was not too distressed by the rejection.

Sirius smirked slightly, "Yes, I am too, actually. But anyway – that is for another time. What I was wondering is whether this had anything to do with that, you know, boy you were interesting in?"

Had Rose not been so shocked by the implications of what Sirius had just said, she would have laughed at his lack of tact. As it were, she was too busy wondering whether Sirius was acting ignorant on purpose, or whether he truly did not know what had happened. Her surprise must have shown on her face, because he soon raised an eyebrow, and asked, "What?"

"Are you serious?" she asked. "Don't you know, or are you just being dumb on purpose?"

"How do you expect me to know? People aren't exactly talking about it, so I figured it must not be wide spread yet."

"You really don't know what happened?"

"No!" He spoke his with such sincerity that Rose was forced to believe him.

She did not say anything. She didn't know what to say. Why hadn't Remus told him, Sirius, one of his best friends? After almost a minutes silence, Sirius asked,

"So, what happened?"

Rose hesitated, and then said, "I was rejected. I asked him to go Hogsmeade with me. He said no. I asked why he kissed me then," Rose paused; her eyes were filling with tears. She could feel it, though she doubted Sirius could see, though he was looking at her rather intently, and when she mentioned the kiss, his expression turned to one of satisfaction, as though he had suspected a kiss all along. "He said because I had made the first move and he was shocked in to response," she added sadly.

"Ouch. I bet that hurt," he said softly.

Rose nodded. She blinked a few times, for the tears in her eyes had caused her vision to become blurry.

"How could any guy seriously say no to you? You are the most eligible girl in the school right now, no exaggeration!"

Rose simply shrugged, blushing slightly at the compliment Sirius had paid her.

"Who is the prick, anyway?" he said, casually. "I wouldn't mind throwing him a good hex or two. That isn't the kind of thing you say to a girl, no matter what, unless you really wanted her to stop liking you."

"I don't think you would want to do that, not if you knew who it was," she said softly.

"Oh yeh?" he challenged, "What, do you think I'm scared of him?"

"No, I think you like him too much. Good friends don't hex each other."

"What?" said Sirius slowly, "Whoever he is, he isn't close enough to me to escape my hex. Only James, Remus and Peter could get away with that."

Rose nodded sadly, wondering how much longer it would take Sirius to figure it out. "Exactly."

Sirius starred at her dumbfounded.

"You don't mean…?" he started.

Rose nodded, a tear finally escaping her right eye. "Remus," she said bitterly. Simply saying his name caused her pain. "It was Remus."

"Remus? _Remus_? _The_ Remus? Remus John Lupin?" repeated Sirius, looking more flabbergasted by the second.

Rose nodded again, wiping the tears from her eyes. Once she felt composed, she looked up at Sirius, to find he was starring at her with his mouth open.

"I'm surprise he didn't tell you," she said, "You four guys seem very close. I expected him to tell you from the moment I kissed him… that was yesterday, in detention with McGonagall – hey, where are you going?" she called after Sirius, who had just jumped out of his chair, and making his way out of the common room. He didn't answer.

"Sirius, come back! What are you going to do? Sirius!" she called, rushing up from her seat, though by the time she reached the portrait hole, he was out of sight.

"Oh, what have I done?" she muttered to herself, pulling on her hair. Having lost her appetite, she vanished what remained of her miserable dinner and forced herself up to her dormitory, where she felt it was safe to wait for news of what Sirius had in mind.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

Remus Lupin was enjoying that day's dinner, eating in silence and nodding occasionally when Peter or James addressed him, though his friends suspected that he scarcely heard a word they spoke, given that he had nodded when Peter asked him if would ever consider dancing with the Giant Squid in the middle of winter in the lake. He had hidden his grief from the mornings encounter rather well however, a technique he supposed he had learned from having years of experience hiding the fact that he was a werewolf, and his friends supposed that he was simply too tired to be involved.

Remus toyed with the food on his plate, not really eating much, or even paying it much attention. He had the look of a wizard lost deep in thought, and this impression was reinforced only minutes later.

Sirius Black had stormed in to the Great Hall, slamming open the door and marching his way over to the Gryffindor table, not even acknowledging anyone who spoke to him. It was rather peculiar behavior, and as such had roused the attention of a sizable number of students.

The students watched, some looking curious, others downright excited, as Sirius approached his three friends. Remus had not noticed his friend at all, though James and Peter were looking at Sirius with worried expressions.

"What –" started James.

Sirius Black grabbed Remus by his shoulders. Remus jumped from surprise as Sirius literally dragged him out of his seat.

"What are you doing?" exclaimed a bewildered Remus.

Sirius did not answer; instead he looked over his shoulder as he dragged Remus out of the hall and called to James and Peter, "Coming?"

The two stood up immediately, dinner forgotten, looking rather perplexed, though they followed Sirius out of the hall all the same.

Sirius did not speak until they had entered an empty classroom opposite the Great Hall.

Remus was finally able to straighten up, and as he did, he looked at Sirius with a mixed expression of annoyance and confusion.

"What the bloody hell was that about?" he demanded as he rubbed his shoulder.

"Yeh, Padfoot, what's got you worked up so much?" asked James, looking concerned.

"Maybe," started Sirius, locking Remus in a slight glare, "dear Moony would care to explain. I don't understand it myself, you see."

"Understand what?" said James, bewildered, as Remus looked at Sirius with understanding slowly dawning upon his face.

"Well, you see, Prongs. It is funny, really," started Sirius with mock innocence. "There I was, interrogating a rather depressed looking Rose –" Remus visibly cringed at the mention of her name " –making sure to be considerate but at the same time trying to get information about who this mystery man might be, when Rose suggests that I already know. Strange, I thought, how should I have known? Apparently she had asked the bloke out, but he rejected her. Said that he never meant to kiss her, he did."

Sirius paused, his eyes locked on Remus, wearing an expression of mild annoyance. Remus looked back at him, looking worried, and his skin slightly paler than usual. James and Peter looked back between the two, still very confused.

"Do you have any idea who she thought that young man was?" he challenged Remus.

Remus sighed. "I suppose you are annoyed that I did not tell you earlier, myself?" he asked.

"As a matter of fact, yes," replied Sirius, and his annoyance seemed to dwindle slightly, and was joined by a mild expression of concern. "How could you not tell us? Your friends, Moony? We know your biggest secret, but you did not trust us with this?"

"What are you saying?" interrupted Peter. "He already knew who the guy was, and didn't tell us?"

"Are you going to tell them, Remus, or shall I?" said Sirius.

James and Peter looked at Remus intently.

Remus resigned to his assigned task and said miserably, "It was me. She kissed me. She asked me to Hogsmeade this morning. I said no."

Remus shock his head at the reaction of his friends, "What?!" cried Peter, while James had exclaimed, "Are you mad?!"

"Why didn't you tell us, Remus?" pressed Sirius.

"Tell you what?" he muttered, "That she kissed me yesterday in McGonagalls office? That I kissed her back and was caught by McGonagall? Or that she cornered me in the library this morning after charms and asked me to go Hogsmeade with her, and then ran away in tears when I said no."

"Yes, that, Remus! That is exactly what you should have told us!" said Sirius seriously. "Now, we have two important issues here, one, why didn't you tell us, and two, you are bloody infatuated with the girl, why on earth did you reject her?"

"I'd like to know that too, Remus," said James, looking at him intently. Peter nodded from besides him.

Remus turned away from them all, his expression pained. "I don't want to talk about it," he muttered.

Sirius grabbed him by the shoulders again, this time gently, and guided him to a chair. Remus obliged, allowing himself to be steered into the chair. He sighed.

"Fine. However," he stressed, "You promise you will respect my choice?" he asked, eyebrows raised.

"Can't do that," said Sirius stubbornly, while James and Peter simply looked uncertain.

"Sirius!"

"Look mate, just tell us."

"I don't deserve her," said Remus gloomily, looking away from his friends and starring at the blank wall ahead of him, "She doesn't know what I am; if she did she would never want to be involved with me."

Remus did not even show any recognition that he had heard his friends cry out in outrage.

"Rubbish!"

"You _are_ mad."

"She won't, Moony!"

Ignoring them completely, he continued,

"What good is it, allowing myself to get involved now, pretending it will all end nicely? She will find out sooner or later, and she will regret the day she ever let herself care for me. And even if she didn't care, we could never have a long term relationship – who knows what happens when werewolves try to have children? What will they be, normal or werewolf? I can't take that risk. At any rate she deserves someone normal, someone who can make her happy."

There was a rather stunned silence following his bitter pronouncement.

"Remus…" said James, shaking his head, "What are you saying? She is very open-minded, I know she won't care about your furry little problem. We didn't care."

"Do you have any idea how many people I thought would not care? When I tell them, they won't even look at me anymore."

"But Remus, she is different, you know she is, you wouldn't have liked her otherwise!" pressed Sirius.

"Exactly, she isn't some slimy Slytherin, she is part veela herself, probably would be able to empathize with you," added Peter.

"Oh yes," said Remus sarcastically, "the horror of being gorgeous! She must have nightmares about it."

"But –"

"Look, don't push it guys. I know you mean well, but this something I decided over a year ago. No girlfriends for me. I'm not going to mess around with them like that. They deserve better. And like I said, even if she didn't care, she deserves better. Do you have any idea how people view me outside of Hogwarts? I will be struggling to find a decent job, no one will want me, and she will become an outcast as long as we are together."

"But what if she doesn't care – about being an outcast, about the risk with the kids?" said James. "She deserves the right to choose too, Remus."

"And you aren't exactly making her happy now, the girl was crying when I left her!" said Sirius, "She likes you Remus, you being a werewolf won't change that!"

"I can imagine. It hasn't exactly been a walk in the park for me either – you know how much I like her. She likes me, I like her, it is so easy for me to take the chance, but I know I can't. And that kills me inside. But, it is best this way. Give it a few weeks, she will get over it, and it will all be for the better."


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

Rose awoke the following morning in confusion- she was in bed, still in her Hogwarts robes. Her curtains were drawn but she was lying on top of her covers. She realized she must have fallen asleep last night as she lay in bed wondering what Sirius would say to Remus.

Remus, thought Rose, and she let out a soft sigh. It was Friday, which meant she had to face him in class. She had spent a few hours last night wondering how she would handle the situation. She knew it would be difficult, considering that the last time they had spoken she had ran away from him with tears streaming down her face. She knew, however, the only way to save face was to act cool and calm, and to hide her pain from him. It sounded like a horrible plan even in her head; however she could not think of anything else.

So, thirty minutes later, Rose made her way down to the Great Hall with Lily by her side. Lily had also suggested that she just act cool and even used James as an example – she had rejected him numerous times but that did not cause him to act awkward around her.

When the pair entered the great hall, it was to Rose's great relief to see that Remus was not there yet. They deliberately choose seats in a crowded part of the table – they knew Remus would sit with his friends when they arrived, and since the four of them would not fit, they would have to sit somewhere else.

In fact, she was so comforted by this thought, and so engrossed in her breakfast (she had eaten very little for dinner the last night and even less for lunch) that she did not even noticed that Lily was talking to someone standing behind her, and that she had just left her seat, and that someone else had taken her place.

"Lily, can you pass the milk please?" she asked, not looking up from her meal.

Rose looked up to accept the milk jug, but before she had so much as extended her hand to receive it, she froze, realizing that Lily was no longer sitting next to her.

"Remus!" she gasped. She started at him in horror, feeling a blush spread across her cheeks. "What are you… I- how- w-where's Lily?" she stuttered.

Remus smiled kindly, he seemed to be pretending not to notice Rose's embarrassment. "I asked her if I could have this seat. She moved to sit over there." He indicated to his right, and sure enough, Lily was now seated with the other fifth year girls, her gaze fixed on Remus and herself. Rose gave Lily a furious look, but Lily simply grinned back and winked.

Rose returned her gaze to Remus, who was watching her with a curious expression – this made Rose feel even warmer. He was still smiling, a smile that melted her inside.

"Umm, so…" he said awkwardly, "Look, about yesterday… I am really sorry; I didn't mean to hurt you –"

"Oh no, it is okay, really," said Rose quickly, lying through her teeth, "You don't need to apologize. It was my fault."

"Well, I just hoped we could still be friends?" he said uncertainly.

"Of course!" replied Rose, feeling herself relax substantially, "Of course. Ah, you know yesterday, I really did over react, it was just the shock of it all more than anything else, you know… I didn't want you to feel guilty or anything."

Remus gave her an inquiring, almost sad look. She did not know what to make of it. He nodded, and said, "As long as you aren't upset with me."

"I am not," said Rose sympathetically. It was true too – she was not upset with him, she was upset with the rejection; no matter what she told Remus, her heart still ached, and she longed to hear him say that he had reconsidered and would love to attend Hogsmeade with her. There was so much she did not understand, she still does not understand why he had rejected her, when she and Lily had been so sure. Even Sirius, he seemed shocked to find out it was Remus all along – did he suspect that Remus might have liked her too? Rose argued silently with herself for a moment as to whether she should ask him about it – though she concluded quickly that she did not dare ask, not when he had just secured their friendship. Any awkward questions might set them back, and at the moment, his friendship meant a lot to her, even if it fell short of the relationship she was hoping for.

"I'm glad to hear it," said Remus smiling warmly. "I'll see you in class."

"Cool, see you," she said softly. She watched him leave, trying to hide the longing from her face, so that no one would suspect anything. It was hard, though. The pain she felt was still burning strong.

Remus reached his friends further down along the Gryffindor table and sat with them. They immediately started bombarding him with questions. Rose could not hear a word of their conversation though, as she was too far away and they spoke in hushed voices. So, it seemed that Sirius had had a word with Remus and that James and Peter now know about it too. Rose wondered how many others knew – she sincerely hoped no one else had noticed anything. Instinctively, she looked up at the Slytherin table, nervously remembering that Jessica had seen her crying yesterday. Her eyes found Jessica immediately – though she was not pleased with what she saw. She was watching Remus with a satisfied smirk on her face. Did she suspect what had happened? Rose certainly hoped not – though there was something rather dangerous about Jessica's expression at that moment, and Rose knew she would have to keep her guard up.

---

"So, what did he say?" demanded an over-exited Lily.

"Relax," said Rose, sighing deeply, "He just said he still wanted us to be friends."

Lily and Rose were in Potions class, discussing away the happenings of the morning's breakfast as they worked.

"But that's still good!" said Lily earnestly, "At least, you know, your friendship hasn't been ruined."

"Yeh, I suppose so… I guess it will be strange now though, I mean, he knows I like him, his friends know I like him, don't you think things will be a bit awkward?"

"Only if you let it become that way," replied Lily confidently, as she carefully added essence of seahorse to her perfect, shimmering green potion. "Honestly, just look at James! It could have been awkward with me and him, but he never let it be that way."

"But that's _James_, he is too full of himself to ever feel embarrassed!" replied Rose, looking at her own dull, murky green potion. "Well, I guess I'll have to try. Do you think I should give up on him Lily?" she added with a rather sad expression.

Lily patted her on her back, "I think you should work on him. You two are still friends, spend some time with him, flirt a little, a _little_, not a lot, or it will be too obvious, get him used to you, you never know, he might fall for you…"

"You reckon?" said Rose, looking doubtful, "I'm not much of a flirt."

"I know, and that is a good thing- you won't over do it. We don't want you doing something stupid – we can leave that for Jessica!"

Rose gasped, accidently tipping over the small, though valuable, jar of powdered rhinoceros horn.

"Jessica!"

"What about her?" asked Lily, raising an eyebrow.

"You just reminded me – Lily, she saw me running out of the library in tears, and this morning, after Remus spoke to me, I saw her looking at Remus with an expression of – how do I explain it – pure evil? She was smirking, like she knew something, or put two and two together."

Rose looked across the room at Jessica. She was working quietly for a change; her silence was welcome, though it unnerved Rose slightly, her expression was one of a person deep in thought, planning, and Rose suspected it had little to do with the day's potion.

"But how could she know, I mean, there could have been many reasons why you would be crying?"

"McGonagall", whispered Rose. "She practically announced that I was taken! The news must have spread across the school, I mean, those two boys must have told their friends, it would have spread from there! She would have heard it for sure."

"Oh, yeh… that would explain why people have keep asking me if you really taken," said Lily absent-mindedly.

"_What_? You never told me that!"

"Sorry, Rose. I just didn't think you needed anything else to worry about, it is bad enough stressing about asking Remus out, without knowing that half the school has been gossiping about who the lucky guy is."

"True that," said Rose, grinding her dragon scales with perhaps a little more force than was needed. "And now I have to worry about Jessica."

"Forget her for now – what about Remus, you are going to try and get him to like you, aren't you?

Roe looked up at Remus. He was carefully adding something to his potion. As he leaned over his cauldron, the steam from the potion condensed in his hair. It suited him, thought Rose, smiling.

Rose sighed, "I'll try, I have to… I can't just let him go. You don't find too many people like that around, no matter how hard you look."

"Good," said Lily smiling. "I'm sure you can win him over."

"I might need some help though. I have quidditch practice this Sunday; do you think I should try to get some information out of James? Discreetly, of course," she added.

Lily shrugged, "Worth a try – but don't under estimate those boys, if James suspects anything suspicious, he will go straight to Remus. I'm sure of it," she added sternly.

Rose grinned mischievously, "I know, and I think, I might just be able to use it to my advantage."


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 21**

The following morning, Lily and Rose made their way clumsily through the thick snow towards Hogsmeade village. Rose was excited; it was the first time she would be visiting the village.

"I just wish it wasn't so cold!" she exclaimed, pulling her cloak closer against her.

"It'll be warm inside the stores," said Lily reassuringly, "Especially at the Three Broomsticks. Madam Rosemerta makes the best butterbeer I've ever had."

"Mmmm, can't wait," said Rose, "It's just a shame I couldn't be enjoying the day with Remus."

"Don't think about that, Rose, let's not spoil the day!" said Lily, "Think happy thoughts! Think Zonko's, think Honeydukes, think butterbeer! Yum!"

Rose laughed, "Okay, okay. Where shall we head to first?"

"Honeydukes, for sure. They have the best range of sweets. Let's go," said Lily as they finally entered the village.

The girls spent a few hours wondering around through the village, enjoying the chocolate and sweets they had bought from Honeydukes as they walked. Finally, they decided to have a rest at the Three Broomsticks.

After getting their drinks, they sat alone at the only table not already occupied by other Hogwarts students.

"Mmmm!" said Rose, "This _is_ yum!" after tasting the butterbeer for the first time.

"Told you, I could live off the stuff," Lily grinned, "Though I don't think it would be too good for my health. Anyway, have you figured out what you are going to say to Potter tomorrow?"

Rose sipped her butterbeer slowly, after a while she put it down, saying "Not yet. I don't want to it to do anything too out there, something subtle… I mean, I still want to get some information out of him, but how do I do it without giving _him_ too much information. "

"And what kind of message are you hoping he will pass on to Remus?"

"I'm not sure yet. Something subtle, maybe something to let him know I'm not giving up… but it is still early for that isn't it?"

"Yes, I think it is," said Lily, looking deep in thought.

The girls sat silently for a moment, sipping their butterbeers and thinking about a potential plan.

"I know!" cried Lily suddenly, putting down her butterbeer.

"What?" asked Rose eagerly.

"Okay, so how about, for the time being, you just subtly get some info out of Potter. Play on his ego, that shouldn't be too hard. Nothing too big, just, what kind of pudding does Remus like? And then, after you've gotten really close with Remus and you feel that he might like you, then you can start dropping bigger hints at James, and he can pass the information over to Remus, so he gets the message."

"Hmm… that sounds like an idea," said Rose slowly. "Yeh, okay, I think I might try that. I'll need good information about the guy if I ever plan to succeed."

"Exactly," replied Lily.

"Hey, Lily," Rose looked at Lily, her expression suddenly concerned; "You don't think he might like someone else, do you?"

Lily looked surprised, "Umm, well to be honest, I never thought of that…"

"Oh no! If he likes someone else, how can I win him over?"

"Rose, relax. Look I know Remus. I don't think he likes someone else. I've never seen any hint of it."

"Yeh, but then again, you thought he liked me too!" cried Rose, panicking, "He might like someone else; it would explain why he said no."

"Rose, relax!" said Lily, "Look, if you are so worried, you can add that to the list of things to ask Potter."

"How can I ask that subtly?"

"No idea, you're going to have to think about that one."

"I guess –" started Rose, but she was cut off by a shout from behind them.

"Evans!" shouted a rather familiar voice.

Rose and Lily turned around in their chairs and saw Potter half-walking, half-strutting his way towards them. Sirius, Remus and Peter were following him, saying hello to people they knew, Sirius winking a couple of times at some rather giggly third and fourth year girls.

"What do you want, Potter?" asked Lily irritably.

"No need to be so formal, Evans," said James, winking at Lily as he sat down besides her.

The others arrived and Sirius sat next to James, Peter next to Sirius, and that meant there was only one seat let for Remus – the one right next to Rose. Remus sat down next to her while giving Sirius an annoyed look. Sirius grinned back smugly – Rose suspected that Remus thought that Sirius had planned that he would have to sit next to Rose. Though she was nervous about it, she was not complaining.

"Felt like inviting yourself, did you Potter?" asked Lily coolly, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeh, pretty much," he replied calmly, running his fingers through his hair, "You don't mind do you, Evans?"

Lily gave him a look that suggested she did mind, however before she could reply Sirius cut in,

"But Rose doesn't mind, do you Rose?" he said smugly, "I'm sure she is more than happy with the seating arrangements."

Rose froze, starring at Sirius, unable to register that he had really just said what she thought he did. Peter actually choked on his butterbeer, while James looked amused. Even Lily betrayed herself with a small smile. Remus, however, gave him a reproached look.

She felt a blush creeping across her face, and, not wanting to embarrass herself further, said,

"Of course I'm happy Sirius – I'm not stuck sitting next to you. Who wouldn't be happy?"

"Oh, feisty one, aren't you," said Sirius winking, "But I'm sure we all know what I meant."

"Sirius," said Remus, warningly. Rose felt a rush of gratitude to Remus, though admittedly, was too embarrassed to actually look at him.

"What, Moony?" said Sirius, trying to look innocent. "Did I say something?"

Remus did not reply, but gave him a look that plainly said don't-be-stupid.

"Oh, come on," he said exasperated, "You don't expect us to act like nothing happened, do you?"

"You know what Sirius, I think they might…" said James in a mock-serious voice.

"Surely you, Sirius, should have realized that? Or perhaps you aren't as smart as you think you are?" said Lily challenging.

Sirius clasped his chest, pretending to be deeply hurt. If Rose wasn't so embarrassed she would have laughed – it was a hilarious site.

"Hey, I only wanted to know whether Rose was happy or not –" he started defensively.

"Look," said Rose, "Yes, I am happy with the seating arrangements. Happy? Can we get on with things now?" She sounded confident when she spoke but she knew she was blushing. As much as she could pretend to be cool about everything, it was still too soon, the pain still to fresh for her to truly be indifferent about it all.

"Yes, we shall," said Remus, smiling at her. Rose blushed. Unfortunately, the others noticed, and as Sirius smirked, about to comment, James cut him off, and said,

"But anyway, you are forgetting, the real person who matters here: Lily, of course."

Lily sighed, "And here I thought I was going to be able to escape you for one, glorious day…"

"Of course you can't," said James cheerfully.

"We can't even escape him – well that might be because we are stuck sharing a dorm with him," said Remus jokingly.

They all laughed, including James who also pointed his wand straight at Remus,

"_Rictusempra_!" he cried.

It was a tickling charm – Remus was laughing uncontrollably, his hands flying all over his body, as if trying to ward off invisible hands. He could hardly remain seated properly- in fact, he was starting to lean over towards Rose, though he seemed oblivious to this.

James, Sirius and Peter were howling with laughter, Lily was laughing, and Rose giggled nervously.

"J-James!" gasped Remus between laughs. He could hardly speak, though his friends were laughing so hard themselves that none of them could mutter the counter curse.

It soon became obvious to Rose that Remus was about to fall out of his chair, and he was leaning so far towards her now that she had no choice but to hold him around the waist to stop him from falling out of his chair. She wrapped her hands around his waist, and felt him tense slightly at her touch. Inwardly, she wish her hands were free so she could hex James for putting her in this embarrassing situation, though part of her, she could not deny, was pleased to be so close to Remus again, even if he was laughing uncontrollably.

"Lily," she said desperately, "Do something!"

"I don't know the counter curse," Lily replied. She turned to James and prodded him hard with her wand. "Do something, Potter!"

James stopped laughing just long enough to mutter the counter-curse, and Rose felt Remus stop moving immediately. After taking a few moments to recover, he seemed to realize he was leaning fully upon Rose and that her arms were around his waist in support. He pulled himself up quickly and looking at Rose, said, "Sorry, I didn't mean to fall on you".

Rose was surprised to see he was blushing slightly. He had tears in his eyes from the laughter – over all, it had a good effect on his appearance, Rose thought.

Embarrassed herself, she replied, "That's okay."

Sirius, who seemed to have calmed down enough now to talk, said, "I'm sure it was more than okay Remus, if you know what I mean."

Rose laughed softly this time, and was pleased to see she did not blush. She supposed it was because she had been expecting Sirius to say something stupid.

"Oh, Remus," said Peter, still chuckling slightly, "You should have seen yourself, it was hilarious."

"Yes, I'm sure it was, thank you so much James, I don't know how I can ever repay you," said Remus sarcastically, though he now joined in on the laughter.

"No problem, I'll expect a _proper_ thanks later, by the way," he replied. Rose did not understand what he meant, and from her expression, neither did Lily, though apparently Remus did, because he simply rolled his eyes.

Rose reached over for her butterbeer, thinking about how miserable it was that the only close contact she could expect to have with Remus was supporting him while he almost died from laughter. She brought the butterbeer up towards her mouth, and suddenly, out of nowhere – she heard a loud cracking noise, and she saw before her eyes, the glass shattering into pieces and butterbeer and glass flying everywhere.

Rose gasped, as did the others seated next to her. She was covered in butterbeer – it was on her face and robes, even in her hair. The boys and Lily all left to their feet.

"Are you okay?" cried Lily. Then she gasped once more, "Your hands, Rose, your hands!"

Rose, still frozen in her seat, raised her hands to her face. She gasped – they were covered in blood. She could see small pieces of glass sticking out of her palms. Because of the initial shock, Rose had not felt the pain, though slowly, she was recovering the feeling in her hands, pain included.

"Wha- what happened?" she stuttered.

"Your glass exploded," said Sirius, looking dumbfounded.

Remus grabbed Rose's arm and looked at her hands.

"You need to go to the hospital wing."

"But – I don't get it, what just happened?" she replied meekly.

"That isn't important now, you're losing a lot of blood – those cuts are deep. Come on, let's get going."

Rose allowed Remus to pull her gently out of her chair and towards the door. Lily followed though the other three stayed behind to help clean up the mess. As they made their way out, Rose noticed that people were staring at her, looking intrigued, and she saw, sitting in a corner with her giggling friends, Jessica, wand out, sneering smugly at Rose.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

The three made their way up to the hospital wing in a hurry. None of them said a word. Rose was too shocked to speak, Remus looked furious though determined, as did Lily.

They finally reached the hospital wing, by which time Rose had lost a lot of blood. Remus had wrapped her hands in his robes to help absorb the blood, and as a result the front of his robes where now soaked.

Rose, supported by Lily, waited at the entrance while Remus rushed towards the back of the hospital to call Madam Pomfrey. He reappeared a moment later, with the school healer right behind him.

"Is it Rose Wilson?" Madam Pomfrey asked as she took Rose's hands into her own.

"Yes," said Rose, her voice trembling. The pain in her hand had magnified ten-fold since her cup had exploded.

"What happened?"

"She was drinking butterbeer, and her cup exploded," said Remus gravely, "We don't know how, someone must have hexed it."

"Dear me," she muttered as she examined her hands. "There is a lot of glass embedded deep in the flesh."

She ushered Rose towards a bed.

"You will be able to fix them, won't you, Madam Pomfrey?" asked Lily, biting her lip.

"Of course, but it won't be easy," she replied, "Now Rose, I need you to sit very still while I remove the glass. Put your hand out on the towel here, that's right."

And so she set of to work, magically removing the pieces of glass one by one. Rose winced a number of times – the glass did not come out easily.

"Ouch!" she cried, as Madam Pomprey removed a rather small though deeply rooted piece of glass. Rose felt tears of pain surface in her eyes, though she blinked them away rapidly. She did not want to cry, not while Remus was watching so intently.

"Almost done, now," muttered the healer, and a moment later, Rose's hands were now glass free, but the large cuts still remained, and the towel on which her hand had been resting was damp with blood.

Madam Pomfrey disappeared for a moment into her office to retrieve some lotion.

"Does it hurt much, Rose?" asked Remus, concerned.

It hurt, the pain was almost unbearable, though Rose was not going to admit it, so she simply whimpered,

"Not as much as before."

"Madam Pomfrey will set it right soon, just give it a few more minutes," Lily reassured her. Her voice was calm, but her expression was one of unmistakable anger.

Madam Pomfrey returned, and a few moments later, Rose's hands looked as good as new, though admittedly felling slightly tender. She was not allowed to leave the hospital wing just yet, however.

"No," said Madam Pomfrey sternly, when Rose got out of bed, "You've lost too much blood. I want you to take this potion," – she forced it into Rose's hands – "and rest here for at least another hour. You can have dinner in here too. I shall assess whether you are fit to leave after you have eaten."

Rose drank the potion, thanked Madam Pomfrey, and sat back down on the bed. The healer left for her office after making sure that Rose was resting properly.

"Thanks for bringing me here," Rose said to Remus and Lily.

"Don't mention it," said Remus, smiling reassuringly, "Are you feeling well now?"

"Yes, I'm fine, just a little tired," she replied softly. She was deeply touched by the concern Remus was showing. He was so caring, so gentle. She longed for him to comfort her with more than just words, but she knew she was being hopeful. He had made it clear that they were only friends.

"Good," he said, "You will be fine, don't worry. I, personally, would like to know who made your cup explode," he added, his expression darkening slight.

"Me too," said Lily angrily, "I'd like to give them a taste of their own medicine."

Rose did not say anything. She knew who had hurt her, though she did not want to say so in front of Remus.

"Well, Rose, I had better go and find the boys. I'll let them know you are okay," said Remus, "I'll see you later."

"Bye, and thanks again," said Rose, smiling weakly.

Remus smiled back, and turned to leave. Rose soon as he had closed the door behind him, Rose let out a low sigh.

"Isn't he perfect?" she said to Lily.

"Stop swooning, you are meant to be resting," said Lily jokingly, though her expression became serious again, "Who could have done this? I didn't even bother looking around to see who else was there –"

"It was Jessica, Lily," Rose informed her, "I saw with her friends, wand out and laughing as we left. None of her friends had their wands out. It was her."

Lily gasped, "How could she! The little slim –"

"Revenge," said Rose simply, "Revenge for when I burned her face. And, I don't think it was a coincidence that it happened in front of Remus either. She's had many chances to hex me since when I hit her, it was days ago, why wait until now? No, I'm sure of it. She wants to embarrass me in front of him."

"That seems likely," said Lily darkly, "She's pure evil, that one. You are going to have to keep your guard up."

"I know," said Rose sadly, reclining back into her bed, "The last thing I need is for her to ruin my attempts of getting Remus to like me."


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

"Lily," called Rose, as she entered the common room.

Lily looked up. She was sitting in an armchair near the fire with Nicole, Amy and Tanya.

"Oh, hey Rose," replied Lily, "I just got back from prefect duties, I've been running around the school all day! Are you going to quidditch practice?" she asked, noticing that Rose was carrying her broomstick.

"Yeh, I was just up in my dorm getting dressed for practice." Rose looked over at the other girls. They were involved in deep discussion about something, and took no notice that Rose had just appeared. Rose sat on the floor near Lily and whispered,

"Listen, have you told anyone what I told you about Jessica?"

"No, not yet. I haven't really seen anyone all day, I just got here –" said Lily, frowning slightly.

"Good," replied Rose, "I don't want you to tell anyone – especially not Remus, okay?"

"What, why?" asked Lily, surprised, "I'm sure the guys will want to know, they witnessed it after all."

"Shh, keep your voice down," hissed Rose, looking around to see that no one was listening. "I know. But I don't want Jessica to think she got to me. If word gets out about what she did, it will only make her smugger."

"But it's only those four, what harm can it do?"

"Lily, don't be silly, you know them better than I do, you should know that they will go for revenge."

"Yeh," said Lily smiling nastily, as though she could see the revenge happening before her eyes, "And that is a good thing, right?" she added, raising an eyebrow.

"Not in this case…" said Rose, shaking her head. Lily looked unbelieving, "No, listen Lily, I've thought it through, if we go for revenge she will only plan something else, something bigger. Who knows what she might do? It's too risky, I can't afford for her to ruin my chances with Remus. Let's just see what she plans to do for now, okay? If it gets too out of hand, we might need to step in with a plan of our own, but for now, we lay low, okay?"

Lily hesitated, looking uncertainly at Rose's determined face.

"Fine," she sighed, "but listen can I ask Severus if he knows anything? I mean, he is in Slytherin with her, he might have overheard her talking about it in the common room or something."

Now it was Rose's turn to hesitate, "Will he say anything to anyone?" she asked, uncertainly.

"No, I'll tell him to keep it secret. You trusted him the other day, remember? When you told me about how Remus rejected you, and he was there?"

"Yeh…" replied Rose, "Well, okay, but don't mention the exploding cup thing, okay? Just ask him if Jessica has something planned against me or something like that."

Lily stood up, smiling, "Thanks, I'll go ask him now, he was in the library an hour ago, he might still be there."

"Okay," said Rose, nodding, and standing up herself, "Thanks Lily. Now, I have to get going to quidditch practice before Andrew skins me alive for being late!"

As Lily laughed, the girls parted ways and Rose made her way out of the common room and half walked, half ran towards the quidditch stadium. As she made her way through the many corridors of the castle, she thought over her plan, or, if she were to be honest with herself, her lack of a plan. She wanted to ask James if Remus had feelings for someone else, but she had also already decided that she did not want James to become suspicious of anything just yet. She was sure he would at least hint something to Remus, though, as she and Lily had decided, she did not want him dropping hints until Rose was certain that if she asked him out again, he would say yes.

She was already a few minutes late by the time she arrived at the quidditch stadium. She caught site of the team standing together at the centre of the pitch and made her way towards them. She saw James chatting with Lesley and Ben, the other two chasers. She felt herself panic slightly – she still did not know how to ask him without making it obvious.

"Finally!" yelled Andrew when he saw Rose running towards them, "Glad you finally decided to join us, Rose."

"Sorry Andrew," panted Rose, leaning on her broomstick as she struggled to regain her breath, "Got caught up with something."

"Okay then, everyone gather around," he ordered, "McGonagall finally released the Season plan. We're playing Ravenclaw first, six weeks from now."

"Brilliant," said James, "So it will be winter still, everyone knows their side is weak in the cold."

Andrew nodded in agreement, "Correct, but I don't want anyone using that as an excuse to slack off! They are still a good side, cold weather or not, we have to train hard, very hard, now, everyone mount our brooms, I want to see 5 laps around the stadium, and I'll be releasing the blugders on the third lap!"

They practiced for two whole hours before Andrew, looking rather pleased with the day's performance, called the end of the session. Rose was very happy with her flying. She had been getting better and better with each practice, and had today managed to catch the snitch in less than eight minutes.

As the team made their way towards the changing rooms, Rose allowed her thoughts to return to her plan with James. She was still unsure of how to raise the issue, but, to her surprise, it was James who mentioned in first.

"Rose, wait up," he called out, jogging forward to catch up with her.

"Good flying today," she said, grinning.

"Thanks, you too," he replied, "How are your hands?"

"Oh, yeh they are fine, Madam Pomfrey set them right in no time."

James smiled, "That's great, _and_," he added, his eyes twinkling slightly, "I'm glad to see you haven't let the um, _incident_, between you and Remus effect your flying…"

"Oh," said Rose, uncomfortably, "Yeh…"

"You're not still upset about that, are you?" he asked, looking vaguely concerned.

"No, no, I'm fine. Really," said Rose quickly, too quickly perhaps, because James raised an eyebrow at her.

Rose remained silent for a moment. Her curiosity was burning inside her, she was sorely tempted to just ask James, but at the same time she was worried that he might tell Remus she had asked.

"What's wrong?" asked James; eyeing her suspiciously, "You look like something is bothering you."

"Oh, it's nothing…" began Rose.

"Nothing doesn't make people look like they are bursting to say something," he said defiantly.

Rose laughed. She relaxed a little bit, doing some quick thinking. The worst James could do was tell Remus she has enquired about whether there was another girl involved, and seeing as how it was only a few days ago that she had been rejected, it seemed only natural that she would still be wondering. So they could not possibly make a big deal out of it… she thought to herself.

"Okay," said Rose.

"Okay what?"

"Um, okay, there's something bothering me, actually… and I was hoping maybe you could help me out a little?" Rose said, looking at James with the most earnest expression she could muster.

James looked slightly taken-back; it seemed he had not been expecting Rose to open up to him.

"Alright, I'll see what I can do. Now, as you know, I'm an expert at all sorts of hexes, so if you need me to attack anyone for you –"

"Not that kind of help!" said Rose, laughing, "No, I was wondering, well, if you knew, I mean…"

"Just say it," pressed James.

Rose turned to look him straight in the eye, and said, quickly, before she changed her mind, "Does Remus like someone else?"

James looks surprised. Rose felt herself blushing. She knew that she was allowing too much emotion to show in her eyes, but she did not care. It was too late, she had asked, and all she wanted now was an answer.

James considered her slowly. What was that look in his eye, she thought, was it pity?

"Well, no Rose. He doesn't," said James finally.

Relief flowed over Rose. She felt herself relaxing, and the tension leaving her body at once.

"You're sure?" she asked, unable to suppress a grin.

"Yeh, very sure," said James, smiling in amusement at Rose's excitement.

"Thank you so much James!" cried Rose, "Now, I have to get going, I'll see you later in the common room maybe, oh and, you won't tell Remus I asked, will you?"

James shrugged, "He already knows how you feel about him, he didn't really expect that to change in a few days, even if you two are just friends now."

"But you won't tell him?"

"I can't guarantee anything," said James roguishly.

Rose rolled her eyes, "Fine, just don't make a big fuss out of it, okay?"

"Deal."

"Alright, see you later," she said cheerfully, and made her way back up to the castle, alone, though with a new spring in her step.


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 24**

"Hey, Remus."

"Yeh, James?" replied Remus, looking up from his transfiguration essay. He had been working alone in the library when James, still wearing his Quidditch robes and holding his broomstick, sat down next to him.

"Just had a chat with Rose," James said seriously.

"And?" asked Remus, looking apprehensive.

"She asked me if you were interested in anyone else."

"And what did you say?"

"I just said no… I'm glad she added the 'else', otherwise I would have been in a sticky little fix, wouldn't I?"

Remus nodded, looking worried, "How did she react to that?"

"She was happy Moony, very happy. I think she must have been worrying about it. She doesn't seem to be giving up any time soon…"

Remus starred at his transfiguration essay glumly.

"Just – just try not to hurt her again, okay Moony?"

Remus looked at him hopelessly, "As long as she doesn't try asking me out again… You know James, it hurts just being around her, knowing now that she cares, but I can't have her anyway… I can't say yes, to her, I just can't…"

---

Rose arrived in the common room, still in her Quidditch training robes and holding her broomstick. She looked around quickly for Lily, but she was not there. Rose assumed she was still with Severus, so she went upstairs to her dormitory and had a shower.

After washing up, she decided she was too tired to go back down to the common room, and as she planned on what to do, Lily entered the dormitory.

"Lily, finally!" cried Rose, her face breaking out in a grin.

"What?" asked Lily curiously, "What happened?"

"I asked James! About Remus, he told me, he said that Remus didn't like anyone else!"

"Really?" asked Lily, looking excited now herself, "You're sure he was serious? I mean, you know that he can be a joker."

"Yeh, I know, but he was serious, I asked him," said Rose excitedly, "He wouldn't promise not to tell Remus, but he said he wouldn't make a big deal out of it, and said that Remus knew I wouldn't get over it in a few days anyway, so it doesn't seem like anything suspicious."

Lily nodded, her bright green eyes glittering, "That is true."

"Where have you been anyway?" asked Rose.

"In the library," replied Lily, "I asked Sev, he said he reckons Jessica isn't finished yet, but she's expecting you to get revenge, so she's on the look out."

"Right," said Rose, her smile fading slightly, "Does he know what she has planned next?"

"No, but he said she won't start planning until you get your revenge, he suspects that if she starts planning too soon she won't be able to focus on keeping her guard up."

"Well, that is good, isn't it?" asked Rose, "because I'm not going to get revenge, not yet anyway, so I shouldn't be too worried about her for a while."

"I guess," said Lily, "I'd still rather have a go at her now… anyway, forget that. So, what are you planning for now?"

"Now," said Rose, grinning, with a determined gleam in her eye, "I start working on Remus."

And so, for the following few weeks, Rose worked very hard, trying to get Remus to like her, while keeping everything very subtle. Fortunately, Nicole, who had found out that Remus had rejected her, had been very helpful when it came to advice.

"Now, whatever you do, don't make it obvious," she had said, "flirt, but don't overdo it. Laugh at his jokes, be witty, but stay cool. Try sitting next to him when you get the chance, but not always, just sometimes, otherwise it might seem over done. Try getting him alone sometimes –_sometimes_, not all the time! Oh, and show concern in his affairs, if he is looking down, ask him what's up. Be considerate. And make sure you smile a lot, girl you have one winning smile, if that doesn't win him over, then nothing will!"

Rose had tried very much to keep this in mind. She found that she and Remus were very natural together, their conversation was never forced, which made it easier for her to apply the advice Nicole had given her. She was pleasantly surprised to find that flirting with Remus was also easy – though she remembered not to overdo it, not wanting him to suspect she was up to anything. She had even managed to get some information out of James without rousing too much suspicion, although most of the information she had uncovered was useless ("Honestly, why are boys so hopeless sometimes?" she had complained to Lily). However he did let slip that Remus liked it when women wore their hair long and untied, so she had stopped tying back her own hair, hoping it would make her more attractive ("Not that you really need it," Lily had reminded her).

Furthermore, the more time she spent with him, the more she felt herself falling for him. He was more caring and considerate than she had ever imagined, the younger students looked up to him and knew they could go to him for help ("Well, yeh, I am a prefect, you know," he had said modestly), and at the same time, there was a cheekiness about him that Rose found irresistible. She never grew tired of hearing stories of the silly pranks he had pulled with his friends, or about how they ran around the castle after dark, but mostly she loved the way his eyes would light up when he spoke to her, something she had noticed (or perhaps hoped?) did not happen when he spoke to others.

Best of all (though Rose felt bad admitting it), Jessica had fallen very ill a few days after pulling prank, and had spent a week in the hospital wing, which meant she had not had the chance to attack Rose again.

Rose awoke very early one day during the last week before the two week winter holiday. Looking out of the window, she saw that it was still slightly dark outside, though it was raining heavily, and she knew she would not able to fall asleep again. Instead, she got out of bed, had a nice long shower, and made her way down to breakfast, by which time other students had just started to wake up.

When she reached the Hall, there were only a few other students there, though after twenty minutes students started to arrive in packs.

"Hi Rose," said Lily as she took a seat besides her, "Last week of term, finally! These OWLs are driving me insane!"

"I know, tell me about it. I can't wait for the break. Just sitting at home, doing nothing, for a change…"

"Doing nothing?" said Lily, looking aghast, "I think you mean catching up on pretty much everything!"

"Oh, yeh…" replied Rose, looking like her holiday was probably going to be ruined.

Rose looked up and Sirius, James and Peter slid into the seats across from her and Lily. She immediately noticed that Remus was missing.

"Where's Remus?" she asked.

"He's coming, he's just feeling a little tired," said Sirius simply, while James yawned loudly.

Lily, looking disgusted said, "I'm trying to eat, Potter."

James quickly stifled him yawn, grinned and said, "Sorry, Evans."

But Rose did not hear Lily's reply. Her attention was fully directed towards Remus, who had just arrived at the Gryffindor table. Rose watched him closely as he sat down next to James.

"Good morning all," he said softly, not really looking at anyone there.

"Remus, you don't look so good," said Rose, concerned. She continued staring at him, but he avoided her gaze. Sirius was not joking, though Remus did not only look tired, he looked exhausted.

"What happened to you?" she pressed.

"It's nothing Rose, don't worry about it. I'm just tired… didn't get much sleep last night," he said, though he still did not meet her eye.

"Do you think maybe you should go to the hospital wing?"

He looked up at her, smiled at the look of concern on her face, and said "Nah, it's fine, really, I'll be alright."

Rose was still suspicious, and said,

"Fine, well you better have a good breakfast then. You look like you need it."

"You sound like his mum, Rose," said Sirius, rolling his eyes.

"Oh, shut it, you," she said jokingly, throwing a piece of bread at his head.

Rose kept a close eye on Remus throughout their charms class. She suspected that there was something he was not telling her. People did not just wake up looking like they had not sleep at all. He did look better now that he had eaten breakfast, but he was quieter than usual, she noticed.

After charms, her friends went off to their next class, leaving her and Remus alone together, as they both had a free. They walked towards the library together.

"Remus?" asked Rose.

"Yeh?"

"Are you sure you're okay?"

Remus stopped walking and turned to face her, "Rose, come on, I'm fine! _Really_."

"But you don't look fine!" she insisted stubbornly.

"Are you calling me ugly?" he demanded jokingly.

Rose giggled, she could not help it.

"No, silly. Far from it," she said with an exaggerated wink, "But seriously, you might be coming down with something. It won't hurt if you just let Madam Pomfrey give you a quick check up."

Remus was about to reply, but stopped. He was looking at something behind Rose, and he was frowning. Rose turned around to see what had caught his attention, and saw Jessica standing with her group of tag-along friends, with an expression of smugness akin to the one she had worn the day she had caused Rose to hang upside at breakfast.

"What do you want?" demanded Rose, the malice in her voice taking herself by surprise.

Jessica took a step forward, "Well, you see, Rose," she said her name as though it was something extremely unpleasant, "I was wondering something… my friends and I here have a little bet going… we were wondering if you could help us out."

Rose eyed her suspiciously. She saw Remus mover closer towards her, protectively. Jessica noticed this too, and smirked. Then, without giving Rose time to react, Jessica pulled her wand out from her robes, pointed it directly at Rose and cried, "_Aperio__cupido_".

A rush of sparkly pink light hit her square in the chest, and she stumbled back, shocked. She did not recognize the spell, and so waited for something to happen, but nothing did. She pulled out her wand quickly, and pointed it Jessica, who did not even raise her own wand in defense. She simply continued smirking more than ever. Confused and angry, Rose turned to Remus, hoping he could explain what effect the spell had, if any.

However, the moment her eyes found his, Rose forgot about Jessica completely. In fact she forgot about everything, except for him. She did not even realize that she had started glowing pink. She could not take her eyes of him, she was mesmerized; she felt like she was almost floating… she looked into his soft, brown eyes, barely noticing that he was looking back at her hesitantly, concerned. Why had she thought that he had looked tired just moments earlier? He looked gorgeous, she thought, there was no other word for it. She lowered her wand, something, some voice, not in her head, but her heart, was telling her to act.

"You looked gorgeous, Remus," she whispered. She saw Remus blushing, looking back at her uncomfortably, she heard Jessica and her friends explode with laughter, saw Albus Dumbledore arrive in the corridor, but it did not mean anything to her.

"Um, Rose, are you okay?" asked Remus, his voice full on concern and uncertainty.

"Fine," she said, stepping forward, not taking her eyes off him. Somewhere in her head, she could hear the words "_flirt, but don't overdo it_". What stupid advice, she thought to herself. A voice from her heart was telling her, "_just__ do it_". That, she thought, made more sense. She put a hand on his chest, he backed away slightly, but she tightened her grip, pulled him forward, and before he could protest, her lips found his.

She kissed him, but he did not kiss back. He tried to push her away, but she tightened her grip on him by putting her arms around his shoulders, and kissed him more deeply. Finally he relaxed, gave in, and kissed her back. She closed her eyes as he placed his arms around her waist, and their kiss deepened. Rose could hear laughter and hooting in the background, but she did not care, it seemed to be fading anyway… in fact, everything seemed to be fading, not only her hearing, but her sense of touch too. She opened her eyes, but everything was blurry. Even her thoughts seemed to be draining away from her, and her legs were giving up. She pulled away from Remus, breaking their kiss, though she was still in his arms. She blinked furiously, and her eyes regained their function just long enough to register that Remus was looking at her with more concern than ever, but she did not understand why. And then, her legs buckled, she fell forward, with only Remus to support her. Everything went black…


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

Rose felt herself regain consciousness, but she did not open her eyes. Her mind was still blank, as if it were still recovering from the momentary loss of consciousness. Slowly, she registered that she was laying down on something soft, and was covered with something – she must be in bed. It was silent around her.

She opened her eyes and immediately saw that she was in the hospital wing. She was on her back, eyes staring up at the ceiling. How had she come to be here? She could not remember. She looked around, thinking she was alone, only to find that Professor Dumbledore was sitting in a chair by her side.

He smiled when he saw that she had regained consciousness. Rose stared at him, her expression one of confusion.

"Professor, what am I doing here?" she asked.

"You don't remember?" he asked serenely.

"No, I feel tired, I – I…" her voice trailed off. Her expression changed from confusion, to realization, and then to anger. She remembered.

"Jessica!" she cried in indignation, straining her memory, "She – she attacked me. I don't know what the curse was, but I – I… Oh no! What have I done?!"

It hit her suddenly. She sat up abruptly, as though she had just awoken from a nightmare. She starred unseeingly at the wall ahead of her, wearing an expression of horror. She kissed Remus. She _kissed_ Remus. In front of Jessica. In front of _Dumbledore_.

She moaned, and plopped back down into bed. She felt a strong blush creeping across her cheeks. She was too embarrassed to look at her headmaster. She did not say a word, however, Dumbledore did.

"I take it you are unfamiliar with the spell used against you?" he asked gently. There was no mocking in his voice, nor ridicule. Rose was grateful for that.

Still not looking at her headmaster, she said, "I haven't got a clue."

"Allow me to explain then," he replied, "The spell she cast has one effect and one effect only. It causes the manifestation of the hearts true desire into action upon seeing a stimulus related to that desire. It is almost like being intoxicated; once effected by the spell, the person no longer listens to logic, but allows their heart to direct their actions. In your case, Miss Wilson, if you will forgive me for being so direct, your heart's desire was in fact the young man standing next to you, or so it seemed."

Rose gasped, finally turning to fast her headmaster. She studied his face, looking, _hoping_, for any sign to indicate that he was joking. She did not find one. She sat up in bed again, resting her head in her hands. How bloody embarrassing, she thought. If Remus knew how that spell worked, he would know exactly how Rose felt about him. It would be pretty hard to miss; it was a very passionate kiss, indeed. There was no way she could explain it off. She moaned, shaking her head. So much for being subtle. Realizing that Professor Dumbledore was still there, she searched for something to say, to turn the conversation away from the kiss.

"Why did I faint, sir?" she asked, looking up at his light blue eyes, only to find them twinkling. He was amused by her kiss, no doubt, though at least, she thought gratefully, he did not press the issue.

"It is a by-product of the charm – once you fulfilled your desire, you faint," he said simply.

"I am going to kill Jessica," she said through gritted-teeth.

To her surprise Dumbledore smiled broadly.

"That will not be necessary, I am sure. She has already been given five detentions – that charm she cast is strictly forbidden by the school rules. It was most unfortunate for her that I happened to be strolling past just after she cast it."

Rose did not say anything, but continued looking miserable.

"May I ask what is troubling you, Miss Wilson?" he asked kindly.

She looked at him, slightly exasperated. He chuckled at her expression. Perhaps she was desperate to just vent her frustration, or maybe it was because Dumbledore had proved himself to be a good listener the last time she had confided in him, Rose was not sure, but something about her headmaster made her wish to confide in him.

"Well, I'm not sure if you noticed Professor," she started slowly, shaking her head,"but I just kissed Remus in front of the schools more vindictive, loud mouthed Slytherins, under the influence of a charm that shows my hearts true desire, after he had already made it clear that he was not interested in me and that he wanted to be just friends, and after I had spent a month pretending to only like him as a friend. It's a bit of a giveaway don't you think?"

Dumbledore chuckled again; he seemed to realize something that Rose did not – but what?

"_What_ is so funny, Professor?"

"Well, I thought you might have realized it by now, actually," he said, his eyes twinkling.

"Realized that?" she asked, confused.

"Well, was his reaction this morning the reaction of a young man who wanted to be just friends?"

Rose stared blankly at him. What did he mean? She thought back to that morning, to how confused and uncertain Remus had looked when she was approaching him, and it hit her. Remus. He kissed her. He kissed back, she thought. It was not only her who had been kissing deeply; he had kissed her back with just as much passion, before she blacked out.

Rose felt herself grinning uncontrollably. Dumbledore positively beamed back at her. He stood up to leave.

"Well, now that I have seen that there has been no lasting harm; I should really be getting back to my office. And I daresay someone waiting anxiously outside would be very relieved to see that you are okay. I do hope he does not skin me alive for not calling him immediately…."

"Thank you professor, but who is waiting outside?" she asked, thinking she probably knew the answer already.

He chuckled, "You shall see, if you haven't already guessed it."

He made his way out of the hospital wing, and held the door open to allow someone else to enter. It was Remus.

She frowned at the site of him, he still looked horribly tired. "Remus, have you let Madam Pomfrey look at you? You still look you haven't slept all night."

He smiled gently at her concern as he sat in the seat Dumbledore had just vacated, and replied, "I'm not the one who just fainted."

Rose blushed slightly as she remembered why she had fainted in the first place. Hesitantly, she asked, "Um, so, do you know what that spell does? The one Jessica cast?"

Avoiding her gaze, he replied, "Yes, Professor Dumbledore explained it earlier."

There was an awkward pause, which Rose finally broke by saying, "So, you realize, that everything I said, and did… I meant it… even if I only did it because of the spell…"

Remus did not reply, he continued looking at the floor. His expression would have been blank, it if were not for the traces of pain evident on his face. Rose watched him sadly, wondering what he was thinking, hoping that he would admit his feelings for her.

"My feelings haven't changed Remus, since that time I asked you to Hogsmeade," she said in barely more than a whisper, "But I don't think you can deny this time that you kissed me back."

Remus cringed visibly, and looked up at her sharply, "I'm sorry Rose, it must be confusing for you, but I don't want you getting the wrong idea. I know I kissed you back, but you were being very assertive, and I knew you weren't acting on your own accord – I didn't have much choice."

Rose looked back at him, upset and confused, her eyes now wet with tears. She had not been expecting another denial.

"I don't believe you," she whispered.

"It's the truth," he said uncomfortably, "Please, Rose, don't cry."

"It isn't the truth, _Lupin_," she said, her voice trembling. She saw Remus stare with shock – she never called him by his last name. "You're hiding something from me. You can't kiss me back twice and then say you didn't mean it. I won't buy it. I've seen the way you look at me; you don't look at anyone else like that. The way your eyes light up – it only happens when you're talking to me. Others have noticed it too."

Remus listened to her, his eyes filled with pain, his expression was very heartbreaking. But Rose did not understand, why was _he_ hurt? Why was _he_ so upset, she wondered. And why, _why_, was he still denying it?

"Do you deny it?" she asked.

He did not reply.

"Remus, I'm talking to you!" she said emphatically, her voice still trembling, her eyes betraying her with silent tears.

"You don't understand," he said finally.

"Then explain."

"I – I can't," he said hopelessly.

"Why, Remus? What are you holding back? What could be so serious, to make you look like your heart has been broken to pieces?"

"It hasn't been broken," he said, though his denial was half-heart, "I'm just very sorry to see you so upset, Rose. I'm really sorry; you must have misunderstood the signs. Please, just friends, okay?"

Her tears fell silently as she watched him. She was lost for words.

He stood up, "Rose?"

Again she did not reply. Instead she lay back down in bed, and turned her back towards him, tears still streaming down her face.

"I'm sorry," she heard him say. He waited, though she did not reply. Finally, she heard his footsteps, echoing in the silent hospital wing, and heard the door close almost noiselessly behind him.


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 2****5**

Rose walked alone across the grounds towards the Quidditch pitch, secretly hoping that Madam Pomfrey wouldn't look outside her window and see her. She had pracitse this evening, and even though she had spent most of the day in the hospital wing resting, in accordance with the demands of Madam Pomfrey, she knew Andrew would be after her blood if she missed a Quidditch practice session soon before the first match of the year. She did not mind herself; she needed something to distract her. She had been crying on and off all morning, much to the annoyance of Madam Pomfrey who had insisted that crying defeated the purpose of resting. As she reached the Quidditch pitch, she wondered whether Remus had told his friends about what happened, and whether James would mention anything.

From the look James was giving her as she reached the other team members, it was clear that he knew. She did not know if she was happy about this – but she had been refusing guests while in the hospital wing all day so she could avoid talking about what happened, and that it was not going to change now.

Much to her relief, before James could even say a word, Andrew called for silence, and their training session began. After his little talk, they mounted their brooms, and as soon as her feet left the ground, Rose knew she had made the right choice; as she soared through the air, searching for the snitch, her worries temporarily left her for the first time all day.

She knew, of course, that it would not last all night, and it was with a heavy heart that she allowed her broom to land softly on the ground. The internal pain returned instantly, now that she was no longer distracted.

She sighed. Memories of that morning lingering on her thoughts – the pleasure of the kiss they had shared, the temporary hope, based on the realization that Remus had kissed back, and then, the heartbreak. Rejection, she thought bitterly, sucks, especially when the person rejecting you is doing a pathetic job at hiding his truth feelings. Why did he reject, _why_? It is obvious that he cared for her… even _Dumbledore_ had hinted at it, and yet, despite pondering on it all morning, she could not think of a single thing that might explain the unfathomable actions of the otherwise pleasantly predictable Remus Lupin.

Shaking the thoughts out of her head, she made her way out of the stadium with the others. Much to her discomfort, James joined her.

"Hi, Rose," he said with careful cheeriness.

"Hi," she replied hollowly, not meeting his gaze.

Undeterred, he said, "Are you okay, Rose?"

"Never been better."

There was an awkward silence, and then –

"Rose, I know what happened this morning, with Remus –"

"I don't want to talk about it," she said shortly. She felt her eyes fill up with tears at the reference to Remus.

James looked worried and uncertain.

"I'm sorry, James, I don't mean to be rude, but I'm really not ready to talk about this…"

He nodded understandingly, "I respect that. If you ever need to talk anything over, or want someone to hex Remus for you, you know where to find me."

Rose laughed despite her tears as James walked off to join the other team members. She watched them all leave the stadium, no doubt heading towards the common room. Remus would probably be there, she thought. She was not ready to face him; so instead, she decided to wait in the stadium for a while before heading back inside. She walked away to a far corner of the Quidditch pitch, and lay down quietly on the grass, her tears now flowing freely once more, to be stopped only by her unintentional passing into a state of sleep.

- - -

Two figures made their way quickly, and nervously, across the school grounds in the semi-darkness. The older woman hurried the young man forward.

"Hurry, Remus, hurry along, you can't have much time left," she said nervously.

"Sorry, Madam Pomfrey I'm just feeling a little disorientated," he replied.

They began walking even faster, almost at a run, only meters away from the whomping willow when Remus stopped abruptly.

Madam Pomfrey looked at him nervously.

"Remus?"

But he did not respond – his body was convulsing uncontrollably, and shortly after, it started changing. He grew taller – hair was sprouting all over his body, his robes tore as his chest expanded, his face lengthened. Madam Pomfrey started in horror for a moment, then came to her senses and did the only thing that came to her mind – she ran.

She ran as fast as she could, towards the castle, looking back only when she reached its doors, and saw, much to her relief, the werewolf running into the forbidden forest.

Stopping only a moment to catch her breath, she ran through the castle, finally reaching Dumbledores office.

"Sugar quills!" she cried, short of breath.

The gargoyle moved to reveal a staircase behind, she climbed, not even bothering to knock as she burst into the office.

Professor Dumbledore looked up, surprised, from his desk, though his expression soon turned to concern at the site of the Hogwarts healer. He stood up quickly.

"What happened?" he asked sharply.

"Remus," she puffed, "Remus… werewolf… free on grounds – entered forest."

She collapsed into a spare seat as Dumbledore hurried swiftly out of his office.


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 28**

Rose awoke suddenly. For a moment, she was confused by her unfamiliar surroundings, until she realized she was in the Quidditch stadium.

"Bloody hell, I must have fallen asleep," she whispered to no one in particular.

She looked up at the sky, taking in the darkness of her surroundings, and the full moon that loomed up above. She checked her wrist watch, and was shocked to find that it was one am. She stood up quickly, trying not to think about what would happen if she was caught out of bed, but froze when she heard a low growling sound.

She looked up quickly, hands racing for her wand, only to realize that she had not brought it to Quidditch practice with her. And then she saw it. Her insides froze, except perhaps for her heart, which was beating so fast and so loudly that it was a wonder the whole castle hadn't yet awoken. Barely twenty meters away, its golden eyes looking directly at hers, was a fully grown wolf, visible only by rays of the full moon above. And it was _snarling_.

Run. It was the only word that came to her mind, and she obeyed instantly. Though her legs felt like jelly, though she would rather not take her eyes off the beast, she turned on her heel and ran. But it was a futile attempt, the wolf had started chasing her as soon she had moved, and moments later, she felt herself being knocked over by the force of the wolf landing on her back. She screamed as she felt the paws dig deep into her back. She landed hard on the grass, and to her relief, the wolf went tumbling forward from the momentum of its own leap. Adrenalin running through her body, she jumped up to her feet. And there, five meters away, was her _broom_.

"Yes!" she cried.

She ran to it as the wolf regained its orientation. She heard more snarling behind her, but she reached it, and ignoring the blood soaking her robes, she frantically mounted her broom, and kicked off hard.

But it was too late, the wolf was near, and it leaped towards as her feet left the ground, and in that split second of proximity, with the full moon shining behind it, she realized. It was not just a wolf. It was a _werewolf_.

But before the scream playing at her lips could escape, she was knocked of her broom, and landed hard on the ground, her already wounded back taking most of the impact. She screamed again, a loud petrified scream, as the wolf lashed her belly and arm with one swipe of its claws. The pain was unbearable, she felt faint; she had lost too much blood. But she could still make out the wolf, it was standing right on top of her, snarling, its vicious teeth glistening above her.

This is it; she thought frantically, either death, or a werewolf bite. She felt more claws tearing at her, this time; it was her lower right leg. The beast seemed to like playing with its food, though Rose could hardly complain. She had no desire to die, nor to spend the rest of her life as werewolf. Every second spent mutilating her body was buying her time.

She tried to move, tried to struggle, but she couldn't, she was too weak, losing too much blood, and she had no hope of escape now that her leg was mutilated. She looked around frantically, for something anything, and she saw it again: her broom. Without thinking, she grabbed it, and with all the might she could muster, swung it. She felt it make direct contact with its head, she heard it howl with pain, it backed away slightly, but not enough, she did not have enough time to mount her broom. The werewolf lunged at her, its teeth bared – it was going to bite.

She stared; transfixed in horror, but then with a flash of red light, and the werewolf was thrown away from her. It howled in pain, but before it could attack her again, another flash of red light. Rose looked around hysterically.

_Dumbledore_. She was saved.

He was running towards her, his wand held steady, and as he drew closer, she saw the worry and fear in his eyes. He shot another spell at the werewolf and with a flash of blue this time, it howled loudly, painfully, and then sprinted off in another direction. With another flick of his wand, the headmaster conjured a large glass like dome; it surrounded the werewolf on all sides, trapping it. It howled and clawed at the walls, but it could not escape.

Rose sighed relief, grimacing from the pain she was in, aware of how weak she was, fighting silently for consciousness. As she lay there on the ground, Dumbledore's face appeared next to her.

"Did he bite you?" he asked piercingly, his eyes filled with fear.

"No," she replied weakly. The one word drained her greatly.

Dumbledore relaxed notably, though after one swift look at her torn and blood cover robes, he immediately conjured a stretcher, carefully levitated her into it, and as he did, Rose felt the last of her consciousness slip away from her.

- - -

Rose opened her eyes. She blinked. White, everywhere. She blinked again, and then she realized. The hospital wing.

She starred up at the ceiling for a moment as she took in her surroundings. She could feel bandages on her body, but no pain. Madam Pomfrey must have healed her wounds already. She blinked again, and it was then that she noticed the noise around her. She turned her head to her right, and what she saw almost made her faint.

_Remus_.

He was in the bed besides her. He was naked but for the towel covering his private parts. He was whimpering in pain. And he was covered in blood.

Rose felt the blood draining from her face, her heart was racing fast. Madam Pomfrey was working frantically at the wounds covering his body, Professor Dumbledore helping her in anyway he could. They both wore very grim expressions as they worked, but the wounds were too many. His legs, his arms, his torso, they were covered in large cuts, some very deep, others shallow. A person unfamiliar to the hospital wing would have thought that the red of his bed sheets was their natural colour; such was the extent of his bleeding.

Rose blinked frantically, trying to remove the tears that had surfaced in her eyes. He will be fine, she thought to herself, they will fix him up, he will be okay. The werewolf must have attacked him too, she thought miserably. She wondered vaguely whether he had been bitten, but a quick search of his body showed only cuts, not bite marks.

She watched as they worked silently at his wounds. She tried not to look at his face, she could not resist. It was contorted in pain, his skin was pale, though unharmed but for a nasty bruise on the side of his head. His hair was disheveled, but worst of all, was his muttering. She could not make out his words, but she knew they were words of distress. It took all her will power to stop herself from going to his side and whispering to him, telling him it would all be fine. Not only was she in no state to get out of bed herself, but she knew it would distract the two trying to heal him – they did not notice that she had awoken – and that was the last thing she wanted. The sooner they finished, the better.

But even with magic at their hands, it took them a while. She did not know why, but Rose suspected that werewolf injuries may have been harder to treat. Thirty minutes later, thirty long, horrific minutes later, they had finished. He was covering in bandages, though they were precautionary more than anything – the worst of the wounds were healed. The blood had been cleared away, and the bruise on his head was gone. On Madam Pomfreys suggestion, Dumbledore had magically dressed him in shorts. They did not want to risk other clothes; in cast case it caused him difficulty. They covered him with some light bed covers, and then stood watching him grimly for a moment. Rose had never seen either of them look so dismal.

Remus was worse off; he was now starring bleakly up at the ceiling, his eyes extremely hollow. However, it was his expression that scared Rose more than anything. He was in pain, but not just physically pain, there was something emotional there too. Horror mixed with hatred and disgust. She did not understand it, but it she wished it would just go. It caused her pain just looking at it.

"Remus?" asked Madma Pomfrey gently. He did not reply. Rose was not sure he even heard her.

"Should we give him a sleeping draught, Albus?" she inquired tentatively, "The poor dear, I've never seen him so distressed."

"I think so," nodded Dumbledore solemnly.

Remus drank the potion he was offer silently, and a moment later, he was fast asleep.

"Professor," Rose spoke, finally. The two adults jumped, not realizing that Rose was awake. She looked in to her headmasters eyes, unable to conceal her emotion, and asked in a trembling voice, "What happened to him, was he attacked too? Will he be okay?"

Rose saw him exchange a look with Madam Pomfrey. Amazingly, they looked even graver than they did moments ago.

"I think I will leave this to you, Albus," Madam Pomfrey said.

Dumbledore nodded, "Thank you, Poppy."

She left the room to her office as Dumbledore sat down in a chair next to her bed.

"I take it you know what attacked you last night?" he asked seriously, his bright blue eyes piercing hers.

"It – it was a werewolf, wasn't it?" she asked, dreading the confirmation she knew would come.

Dumbledore nodded slowly.

"Why were you on the grounds last night?" he asked.

"I – I had Quidditch practice, and I stayed back a little while after, I must have fallen asleep…"

"May I ask why you stayed behind?"

Rose paused for a moment, her eyes lingering for a moment on Remus' silent, sleeping form. Her eyes filled with tears again.

"I didn't want to go to the common room, not just yet" she said, her voice trembling again, "I had a fight with – with Remus. I was too upset to face him."

"He rejected you again?" Dumbledore asked frankly.

Rose was shocked.

"How did you know that, sir?" she asked.

"As headmaster, I have a good idea of what goes on in this castle," he said, almost smiling, though not quite, "And I think Rose, it is time for you to know why Remus has rejected you."

If Rose had been stunned before, it was nothing to what she felt now. To make matters worse, Dumbledore looked even more serious now. She held her breath, wondering what was about to come.

"Remus was not attacked tonight, Rose," he said gently, "No, the wounds were self inflicted."

He breathed deeply as Rose continued to held her breath, her heart racing.

"The werewolf that attacked you last night… he was meant to be locked up, but he escaped. Most unfortunately, he found you, of all people. Of course, he did not know what he was doing. The wolf instinct takes over at the full moon. All he can do is watch as his body acts."

He paused again; the suspense was enough to cause her ribs to burst.

"It was Remus, Rose. Remus Lupin is a werewolf."

Rose felt her insides freeze. She felt numb. She had heard the words, but they did not register.

"Remus?" she whispered, "Remus, a werewolf?"

Dumbledore nodded bleakly. Rose looked over at the sleeping figure of the young man she cared for so much. Was he really a werewolf? Did he really turn into a monster once a month? Did he really just try to attack _her_?

"But how? _How_? Remus? I don't believe it, I can't believe it," she whispered. Her very insides were screaming in protest. "He never said, he never told me…"

"No, he has been forbidden from telling anyone. I forbad him when I accepted him into this school. Of course, he had no desire to tell anyone. Whenever someone found out, they would abandon him. He has never known friends before Hogwarts. Only his parents stood by him. Anyone who knew of his condition treated him as an animal, addressed him as though he could not understand. Many people referred to him as it."

Rose felt anger and pity exploding inside her. It?

"He is a _human_!" she insisted. "He is a _he_, not an it!"

"Naturally," he said bitterly, "Though most of our kind fear werewolves, and treat them like dirt. It was a great relief to his family that I saw no reason to reject him from Hogwarts. We have been taking precautions since then. Every full moon he would be taken down to the Shrieking Shack in Hogsmeade, he would transform there. No one would know. His friends figured it out of course, they shared a dormitory with him, and they could hardly notice he disappeared once a month. He did not want them to know. He was terrified they would reject him, like everyone else who knew what he was did. Needless to say, they remained the best of friends"

Rose felt numb; she was mixed with different emotions at this new revelation. Pity, at how much he had to suffer. Horror of how painful it must be. Anger, at the rejection he faced from others. Rejection…

"Rejection," she said out loud. Suddenly, it all made sense to her, "This is why, isn't it? This is why he rejected me?"

Dumbledore nodded.

"Why? Was he afraid I would hate him when I found out? Did he imagine I wouldn't want to be a werewolf's girlfriend, that I would be disgusted?"

"Silly, isn't it? His friends had tried to convince him that you were smarter than that, but he wouldn't hear a word of it."

"Poor Remus… how could he _ever_ think I would let that get between us? Well, at least now that I know the problem and can drill some sense into that insecure head of his…"

Dumbledore smiled softly.

"Good luck. I think you will find after tonight, if anything, he will be even more determined to keep away from you. You saw his expression, I suppose? He was numb with guilt… horrified that he had come so close to biting you, or even killing you. I suppose it will take him a while to calm down."

Rose did not say anything. Instead, she looked over at Remus again. She knew Dumbledore spoke the truth. Remus was too kind-hearted for his own good. He was probably eating himself up even as he slept. The guilt must have been overwhelming. But she was determined; she would make him see reason. Werewolf or not, he meant the world to her, and she would never give up without a fight.

She looked up again as she heard Madam Pomfrey enter the room. She carried a large cup of potion; Rose recognized it as the same potion that Remus had just taken. She took it without question, realizing now how exhausted she was, and as she fell back onto her pillow, she felt the shadows of sleep overcome her.


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27**

Rose did not know how long she had been asleep. Part of her did not care either way; it was enough for her to know that it was evening now. The curtains had been drawn over the windows, and the candles lit, and she was alone in the hospital wing with Remus, who had not yet noticed that she had awoken.

Someone had removed her bandages while she slept, and dressed her fresh robes. A quick look at her arm told her that her wounds were completely healed, without even leaving behind a scar. She hoped her stomach and back had healed as nicely too. Someone had also removed Remus' bandages, however he was still wearing only shorts, or so Rose assumed, because this bed covers had been drawn up to his navel, but he was topless.

She watched him out of the corner of her eye. He was in bed, flat on his back, staring unseeingly at the ceiling. He wore the same expression as yesterday: fear, hatred, disgust, and now that Rose understood what had happened, she recognized the guilt there too. Her heart ached to reach out to him, to hold him, to reassure him. But she knew it was not yet time for that. Instead, she tore her eyes away from his face, and let them lingered on his torso. She could not help but notice his light and slender build. Muscular, but not over done. Just the way she liked it. His wounds had healed nicely too. Madam Pomfrey had done an amazing job, considering that just yesterday his body had been covered in deep cuts and blood.

Looking back at his face, she saw that he had closed his eyes. Her heart almost skipped a beat. It was now or never, she thought to herself. She slipped slowly and quietly out of her bed, and sat in the chair next to his. His eyes were still closed- he had not noticed her arrive.

"Hey, gorgeous," she said softly, eyes locked on his. It was barely a whisper, but the effect was explosive.

Remus gasped, his eyes racing open as he sat up sharply in bed.

"Rose!" he exclaimed, looking at her as though he had never seen another human before in his life, "I thought you were sleeping."

"I woke up a moment ago," she said kindly, smiling.

Remus did not return the smile. Instead, his expression darkened again, guilt and fear clouding his eyes. He looked down at his bed, as though to spare himself from looking at her, only to realize that he was topless. He blushed deeply, pulling the sheets up high against his chest as he looked around frantically for a shirt. Rose successfully bit back a grin. If the situation had not been so dire, she would have teased him dearly. She saw his shirt before he did and, her sympathy over taking her preference for him to remain topless, passed it to him. He took it, still avoiding her gaze, and put it on with impressive speed. He fixed his gaze on his bed sheets again, and this time, to her surprise, he spoke.

"Rose," he said hoarsely, "I understand if you hate me. But believe me, I never, _ever_ meant to hurt you."

Rose was so shocked by what she was hearing that she could not even speak. She seemed to have lost her voice. All she could do was continue listening to the dejected soul before her.

"Dumbledore told me that he explained everything to you. I understand if you never want to speak to me again, if I disgust you," he continued, his voice quivering slightly from the sheer severity of the words he spoke, "I don't blame you, I could have bitten you, even killed you. It was out of my hands, I can't control my actions on the full moon; the wolf takes over."

He paused, his expression one of self-loathing. Rose finally found her voice.

"Remus," she said, her own voice quivering, as she took his hand on her own. He winced, but he did not move, "look at me."

Again, he did not move.

"_Look at me_, Remus," she insisted.

And still he did not move. Rose let go of his hand, took hold of his chin, and turned his head to face her. His expression was one of extreme apprehension, and he was breathing very deeply. Despite his small speech, his eyes were pleading with her as they finally meet hers.

"That's better," she said smiling, "Now, I think we need to set some things straight. Remus, I don't care that you're a werewolf. You will always be just Remus to me. So you turn into a vicious wolf once a month, big deal. Who bloody cares? _I_ don't."

Remus looked at her skeptically, "But I almost _killed_ you. How can you not care after that?"

Rose fixed her gaze on him, taking in his worry.

"Remus, do you remember when I attacked Jessica?"

He nodded slowly, "What does that have to do with this?"

"Everything, Remus. Do you remember what you said to me?"

"Vaguely," he replied.

"I remember every word," she said, and then she recited, "_When something happens to you, something beyond your control, something strange, something that doesn't happen to others, friends don't turn away from you- not when you need them most. They help you. They don't alienate you. When others would turn away from you, they turn towards you and say, you know what, __I__ don't care. You are still the same person I've known and loved._"

Finally, at long last, Remus smiled.

"I can't believe you remember that," he said warily.

"Of course I do. It is practically engraved in my brain. And now, I think I know why you said it."

He nodded again.

"So, you forgive me?" he asked, his eyes finally clouded, not only with guilt, but hope.

"Of course. There is no lasting damage."

"Friends?" he asked, holding out a hand.

Rose laughed, "Why so formal, Remus?"

She stood up, and gave him a hug. He tensed slightly, but hugged her back. Rose broke away from him, and sat back done in her chair. He smiled at her sheepishly.

"I'm glad this hasn't ruined our friendship."

"I don't want to be friends, Remus," she replied seriously.

"What?" he said, looking dumbfounded, "But you just said - you said you didn't care!"

"I _don't_ care. But being friends is not enough. I want to be more than just friends, Remus," she said timidly.

He regarded her hesitantly, "Really? Even now that you know what I am?"

Rose had expected some resistance, but she was ready to argue her case.

"I just told you, it doesn't make a difference," she said defiantly.

"I can understand why you wouldn't care if it was just being friends… but being a _girlfriend_? A _werewolves_ girlfriend?" he said, as though it was the most insane idea in the world, "Are you sure you've thought about this properly?"

"What is there to think about? It's not like you turn into a werewolf every night! It is just one night a month! I can live with that."

He shook his head, "You don't understand… it's more than just that. You don't know what it is like, people hate me, Rose. The only reason I have so many friends at Hogwarts is because they don't know what I am. If word got out, parents and students will be outraged; they wouldn't want a werewolf at Hogwarts. I'm a social outcast, and you will be too if word gets out that you're my girlfriend."

Rose considered him sadly. She had had no idea that he suffered so much…

"Remus, I'm sorry. Really, I am, but I won't allow you turn me away because of that. I don't care what others think. If they will turn away from you because you're a werewolf, then they aren't the kind of people I want to be friends with anyway."

Remus was determined; he was not willing to give up without a fight.

"After Hogwarts, I probably won't be able to find a job. I'll be dirt poor, how can I provide for you? And not to mention, I can't risks having kids. What if I pass my condition on to them? They could be werewolves. Is that what you want? A life with me, social outcast, poor and unable to have children?"

"Remus!" Rose gasped, "We're only 15 years old! Don't you think it's a bit early to think about all that?"

"It's never too early for me Rose… I've had to think about these things for a long time."

"Well, I already said, I don't care," she said stubbornly.

"You don't care about not having kids?" he said incredulously.

"You don't know they will be werewolves," she said pointedly, "And anyway, we are only in _fifth_ year, we can think about that when the time comes!"

"But, I mean – look, Rose," he said calmly, "Be sensible. Listen to what I am saying. I am a _werewolf_."

"I thought we already established that?" she said heatedly, "Honestly, Remus, can you stop looking like you've just been asked to swallow a hippogriff whole?"

He simply looked back at her sadly, shaking his head.

"I'm just trying to make you see reason," he said softly, "I don't want to hurt you again, Rose. Please, just listen to me."

"No, Remus," she said passionately, "I've heard enough. You're just making excuses. You know how I feel about you. And you feel the same way, don't you?"

"I – um… I mean to say, well…" he stuttered uncomfortably.

"Remus, stop it, please, you're _hurting_ me," she cried, fighting back tears, "Why can't you just admit it? Why both know the truth!"

"I can't, Rose, I can't," he pleaded, "Please, just try to understand, it's for your own good."

"_You_ are for my own good, Remus," she insisted, "Remus, please, I can't stand this, seriously, just listen to me. I- I _love_ you."

Silence. Remus and Rose simply looked at each other.

"Love?" said Remus, finally breaking the silence, "You love me?"

"I do," she replied simply.

"Love is a big word, Rose," he said softly.

"I know. And I mean it."

She stood up. She knew her words weren't strong enough to persuade him, even if she had just declared that she loved him. He watched her hesitantly as she sat on his bed right next to him. They sat face to face, with hardly two hand spans between them.

"What are you doing?" he asked breathlessly.

"Making you see reason," she whispered. And she leaned forward slightly, allowing her lips to touch his gently, and pulled away, her eyes fixed on his.

"Rose, I don't think this is a good idea –" he said, his breathing deepened, and Rose could tell his heart was beating madly.

"Why?" she asked innocently. Leaning in again, she kissed him gently on the lips, and then pulled away.

"_Please_ Rose, don't," he moaned, but offering no other real resistance.

She ignored him, leaning in again, this time kissing him more deeply, her arms around him, her thumb tracing circles on his neck. Again, she pulled back.

"Rose…" he said, his eyes pleading with her to stop before it was too late.

But she didn't listen, leaning in again, she kissed him; deeply. He tried to pull back, but Rose clasped her hands tightly around his neck, pulling him in. Finally, his defense weakened, and he kissed back. Surely, this was bliss, thought Rose, as the kiss deepened, Remus, at last, taking control. His wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer towards him, so that their bodies were pressed together. She did not know how long they stayed like that, but she knew it was by far the longest kiss they had shared to date.

Finally, breathlessly, they pulled apart, their arms still wrapped firmly around each other, looking in to each other's eyes.

"I think," said Rose cheekily, with bated breath, "that was confirmation. You like me."

"You don't play fair, Rose," he replied disapprovingly, though with an unmistakable gleam in his eye.

"Mmm, but you can't say you didn't enjoy, it can you?"

"No," he admitted, in a rather sexy voice, "I can't say I didn't."

"So you like me?" she asked again.

"No," he said, kissing her quickly on the lips.

"I love you, Rose," he whispered.

Rose felt tears in her eyes, though this time, thankfully, they were tears of joy.

"It's about bloody time you admitted it," she said, relief flooding through her body, "So we're together?"

"Together," he agreed beaming, "My girlfriend. Sounds strange doesn't it?"

"I've waiting a very long time to hear you say that, Remus," she said, her eyes twinkling as she leaned her head in closer, "Now, enough talk, I think we've got some kissing to catch up on…"


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28**

"Okay, are you ready?" Rose asked.

"What, to face my death?" replied Remus, raising an eyebrow.

Rose and Remus stood alone outside the Great Hall; the rest of the school was already inside, having dinner. They had only just left the hospital wing, after much pleading and promising not to over exert themselves.

"Remus, relax!" she said, taking hold of his hand.

"I've been your boyfriend for like, an hour, and here we are about to barge in to the Great Hall holding hands, and you expect me to relax?" he said incredulously, though his bright brown eyes flashed warmly, "You do realize, don't you, that if I make it to my seat without being hexed to oblivion by a pack of jealous third years it will be some kind of miracle?"

"Don't be silly," she replied giggling, "No one will hex you, not in front of the staff anyway."

"You're right, they will probably be too shocked to react immediately anyway," he conceded.

"Do you know how cute you look when you make that face?" Rose teased, kissing him lightly on the lips.

"What face?" he asked quickly, blushing ever so slightly.

"You know, that half-cheeky, half I-can't-believe-she-talked-me-in-to-this kind of smile?"

"Oh," he said grinning, "Well, I can do it more often if you like."

"Not now though," she replied, smiling, "Right now I need you to standing up straight, looking nice, cool and calm, like you usually do, and holding my hand."

"As you wish," he said graciously, taking her right hand in his left as he straightened out his robes.

"Remus," said Rose, looking at him with mock sternness.

"What?" he replied, trying to look innocent, though failing miserably.

"Hand out of your pocket, leave your wand alone, no one is going to hex you."

"But then how can I defend you from spells aimed at me going off target?" he protested.

"Griffindor chivalry at its best," she replied, sighing, "Okay, the food is getting cold. Ready?"

"Ready," he replied. He opened the doors into the hall, and they made their way in, hand in hand.

At first, they went unnoticed, that is to say, until they took their fifth step, by which time heads were turning sharply, and murmurs were running through the student body like a game of Chinese whispers gone mad. Many eyes were fixed on their hands, and, Rose noticed uncomfortably, Remus was getting quite a number of death stares. She looked at him uncertainly, but he merely smiled back at her reassuringly, his right hand, she noticed, firmly grasping his wand.

They made it safely to the Gryffindor table, thankfully, without any spells being cast. Rose quickly located their friends. They weren't hard to miss, as James and Sirius had just fired bright green and red sparks in to the air, much to the disprovable of Professor McGonagall, who was the only person in the room wearing a death glare that was not aimed at Remus.

"It's about bloody time, Remus!" James exclaimed, ruffling his friend's hair as he sat down for dinner.

"Look's like he finally saw reason!" added Sirius, looking impressed.

Remus grinned at his two best friends, "Tell me about it. At least now you guys will get off my back, right?"

"Nah, I'm sure we'll find something else to bother you about sooner or later," Sirius said casually.

Rose sat down between Remus and Lily, who was smiling excitedly at her.

"So you two are together?" she asked.

"Yes! Finally, can you believe it?" Rose replied ecstatically.

"I _knew_ he liked you, I just knew it," Lily said, beaming, "How did it happen? And why were you in the hospital wing all day? I've been so worried, and Madam Pomfrey said no visitors!"

"It's a long story, I'll explain later," Rose replied, "For now, let's just enjoy dinner, shall we?"

"Fine, but I expect details, okay?"

"Deal."

Rose turned to look at Remus, who was gazing at something across the hall, his eyes twinkling. Rose followed his gaze, and saw Jessica, looking extremely bitter.

"I bet she's not happy her plan didn't work out, whatever the plan was," Rose whispered to Remus.

"No, I don't imagine she is," Remus whispered back, "I can't complain though, if it weren't for her stupid prank, we wouldn't be sitting here together, would we?"

"I guess," she replied, "But I still like to think that I would have won you over eventually anyway," she added with a wink.

Remus smiled warmly back at her, "Save the winking for later, will you, people are still starring at us."

"Oh, are they?" Rose said uncomfortably, looking quickly around the hall. She had forgotten the fuss they had caused for a moment, "you'd think they would have something better to do."

"What, better you mean than formulating conspiracy theories about how boring, plain prefect Remus John Lupin could have ever won the heart of the beautiful and charming Rose Wilson?"

"Remus, you are not boring, and haven't I already called you gorgeous enough times in the last two days?" Rose said emphatically in a hushed voice, "Anyway, I bet a number of girls out there are plotting about how to get back at me for taking you of the market."

Remus smiled, rolling his eyes, "Yeh, right Rose, and I'm the king of England."

"Oi!" called Sirius, startling both Rose and Remus, "Are you two love birds going to spend the whole dinner with your heads together, whispering away like that?"

Rose laughed along with the others, as she and Remus turned to converse with them. Under the table, she felt Remus slipping his hand into hers, and she smiled. Together, she thought fondly. At last.

- - - -

**The End! **

- - - -

**A/N - Thanks for everyone who read the story and left reviews! It was much appreciated. Even though I haven't replied to them all, rest assured I have read them all and thank you all very much for taking the time to leave a comment. **

**There should be a sequel coming up in a month or so, so keep an eye out for that – though keep in mind we will be skipping about twenty years into the future and it will be set in ****OotP. **

**For those who are wondering how I managed to update so fast, it's because I finished this story month or so ago, but I still took my time posting it because I needed to proof read the chapters before I could post them. **

**In the mean time, keep an eye out for my new ****fic ****The DADA Professor.**


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